Supported Missions
This timeline shows the missions supported by the Ocean Biology Processing Group (OBPG).
CZCS
OCTS
SeaWiFS
Terra
MERIS
Aqua
HICO
GOCI
Aquarius
SNPP
S3A
NOAA-20
S3B
SeaHawk
NOAA-21
PACE
1978 OCT 24
CZCS
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Coastal Zone Color Scanner Experiment (CZCS) was the first instrument devoted to the measurement of ocean color and flown on a spacecraft. Although other instruments flown on other spacecraft had sensed ocean color, only CZCS had every parameter optimized for use over water to the exclusion of any other type of sensing.
1996 AUG 17
OCTS
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Japanese Space Agency (NASDA - National Space Development Agency) launched the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) carrying the Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (OCTS) instrument aboard. OCTS is an optical radiometer with 12 bands covering the visible, near infrared and thermal infrared regions.
1997 AUG 1
SEAWIFS
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) was launched by Orbital Sciences Corporation on the OrbView-2 (a.k.a. SeaStar) satellite. The mission was optimized for ocean color measurements with a local noon (descending) equator crossing time orbit, fore-and-aft tilt capability, full dynamic range, and low polarization sensitivity.
1999 DEC 18
MODIS/Terra
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe key instrument on the Terra spacecraft, MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), views the entire Earth's surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths to help improve our understanding of global dynamics and processes occurring on the land, in the oceans, and in the lower atmosphere.
2002 FEB 28
MERIS
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) is a programmable, medium-spectral resolution imaging spectrometer which acquires data over Earth whether illumination conditions are suitable or not. Its 68.5 field-of-view around nadir covers a swath width of 1150 km.
2002 MAY 4
MODIS/Aqua
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageAqua (a.k.a. EOS PM) is a satellite in NASA's Earth Obseriving System (EOS) that orbits the Earth from south to north and passes over the equator in the afternoon. The data acquired by Aqua MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) complements that of Terra satellite.
2009 SEP 10
HICO
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Hyper-spectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) is based on the PHILLS airborne imaging spectrometers. It is the first spaceborne imaging spectrometer designed to sample the coastal ocean. During operation, HICO collected ~2000 scenes/year from around the world.
2010 JUN 26
GOCI
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) is one of the three payloads onboard the Korean spacecraft Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS). It acquires data in 8 spectral bands (6 visible, 2 NIR) with a spatial resolution of about 500 m over the Korean sea.
2011 JUN 10
Aquarius/SAC-D
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageAquarius is the primary instrument aboard the Argentine SAC-D (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-D) spacecraft. The instrument has 3 L-band microwave radiometers plus a scatterometer, which measures sea surface salinity. The spacecraft flys in an ascending sun-synchronous orbit and crosses the equator at 6PM local time.
2011 OCT 28
VIIRS/SNPP
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is a multi-disciplinary instrument that was first flown on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) spacecraft. VIIRS is the successor to MODIS, having 22 spectral bands, 16 moderate-resolution bands, 5 image-resolution bands, and one day-night band.
2016 FEB 16
OLCI/S3A
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) is the successor to ENVISAT's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) having additional spectral channels, different camera arrangements and simplified on-board processing. The OLCI is a push-broom instrument with five camera modules sharing the field of view.
2017 NOV 18
VIIRS/NOAA-20
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is currently being flown on the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series on JPSS-1 (a.k.a. NOAA-20). JPSS is a multi-platform, multi-agency program that consolidates the polar orbiting spacecraft of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
2018 APR 25
OLCI/S3B
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) is the successor to ENVISAT's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) having additional spectral channels, different camera arrangements and simplified on-board processing. The OLCI is a push-broom instrument with five camera modules sharing the field of view.
2018Dec 3
HawkEye/SeaHawk
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Hawkeye instrument, flown onboard the SeaHawk CubeSat, was optimized to provide high quality, high resolution imagery (120 meter) of the open ocean, coastal zones, lakes, estuaries and land features. This ability provides a valuable complement to the lower resolution measurements from previous missions like SeaWiFS, MODIS and VIIRS.
2022 NOV 10
VIIRS/NOAA-21
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is currently being flown on the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series on JPSS-2 (a.k.a. NOAA-21). JPSS is a multi-platform, multi-agency program that consolidates the polar orbiting spacecraft of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
2024 TBD
OCI/PACE
OBPG Mission Page Instrument PageThe Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) is the primary instrument aboard the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission. It's optical spectrometer will be used to measure properties of light over portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and enable continuous measurements at finer resolutions than previous sensors.