earth online
  • All Categories
  • Data
  • News
  • Missions
  • Events
  • Tools
  • Activities
  • Instruments
  • Campaigns
  • Documents

INSTRUMENTS

Explore the many instruments the European Space Agency use to observe the Earth. ESA offer data from a wide range of optical, radar, atmospheric, altimetric and gravimetric instrumentation.

  • Instrument - MAGNETOMETERS

    prompt photo

    VFM

    The Vector Field Magnetometer (VFM) is the primary instrument carried aboard the Swarm satellites.

  • Instrument - Radar Altimeters

    prompt photo

    STR (Swarm)

    The Swarm Star Trackers retrieve information on the precise satellite orientation and attitude.

  • Instrument - Radar Altimeters

    prompt photo

    RA-2

    The RA-2 instrument aboard Envisat acquired radar altimetry data over ocean, land and ice surfaces.

  • Instrument - Positioning/Navigation

    prompt photo

    PRARE

    The Precise Range And Range-Rate Equipment (PRARE) was a microwave tracking system on board the ERS-1 and ERS-2 missions.

  • Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers

    prompt photo

    MWR (ERS)

    The microwave radiometer (MWR) instrument on board the ERS-1 and ERS-2 missions provided measurements of the integrated atmospheric water vapour column and cloud liquid water content.

  • Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers

    prompt photo

    MWR (Envisat)

    The MWR instrument, on board Envisat mission, measured integrated atmospheric water vapour column and cloud liquid water.

  • Instrument - Interferometric Radiometers

    prompt photo

    MIRAS

    The MIRAS instrument is a passive microwave 2-D interferometric radiometer onboard the SMOS satellite.

  • Instrument - Interferometers

    prompt photo

    MIPAS

    MIPAS was an atmospheric instrument carried aboard the Envisat satellite.

  • Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers

    prompt photo

    MERIS

    The MERIS instrument aboard Envisat was primarily dedicated to providing ocean colour measurements.

  • Instrument - Laser Ranging

    prompt photo

    LRR ERS

    The Laser Retro-Reflector (LRR), on board the ERS-1 and ERS-2 missions, was an optical device for accurate satellite tracking from the ground to support instrument data evaluation.

  • Instrument - Laser Ranging

    prompt photo

    LRR (Envisat)

    The LRR instrument aboard Envisat was used to accurately determine the orbital height of the satellite.

  • Instrument - GPS

    prompt photo

    GPSR and LRR (Swarm)

    Each Swarm satellite is equipped with a Laser Retro-Reflector for external calibration and validation of the on-board GPS receiver.

  • Instrument - Spectrometers

    prompt photo

    GOMOS

    GOMOS is a medium resolution spectrometer covering the wavelength range from 250 nm to 950 nm.

  • Instrument - Spectrometers

    prompt photo

    GOME

    The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) was a nadir-scanning ultraviolet and visible spectrometer for global monitoring of atmospheric Ozone.

  • Instrument - Magnetic Field/Electric Field Instruments

    prompt photo

    EFI

    The Electric Field Instrument (EFI) aboard the Swarm satellites is the first 3D ionospheric imager in space.

  • Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers

    prompt photo

    CHRIS

    Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS) provided data of spectral reflectances.

  • Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers

    prompt photo

    ATSR

    The Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) on board ERS-1 and ERS-2 mission consisted of two instruments, an Infra-Red Radiometer and a Microwave Sounder.

  • Instrument - MAGNETOMETERS

    prompt photo

    ASM

    The Absolute Scalar Magnetometer on the Swarm satellites measures the strength of the magnetic field.

  • Instrument - Imaging Radars

    prompt photo

    ASAR

    ASAR ensures continuity with the image mode (SAR) and the wave mode of the ERS-1/2 AMI.

  • Instrument - Lidar/Laser Sounders

    prompt photo

    ALADIN

    ALADIN, on board Aeolus, is a Direct Detection Doppler Wind Lidar operating in the ultraviolet range.

Cookies & Privacy

We use cookies which are essential for you to access our website and to provide you with our services and allow us to measure and improve the performance of our website. Please consult our Cookie Notice for further information or to change your preferences.