PALSAR Instrument

IdentifierpalsarNamesPhased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture RadarPALSAR About identifiers

Measurements and Applications

High resolution microwave imaging of land and ice for use in environmental monitoring, agriculture and forestry, disaster monitoring, Earth resource management and interferometry.

Instrument Summary

Full Name
Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar
Status
No longer operational
Instrument Agencies
Maturity
Medium Heritage
Instrument Type
Imaging microwave radars
Geometry
Side-looking
Instrument Technology
Imaging radar (SAR)
Sampling
Imaging
Data Access
Open Access
Data Format
CEOS

Performance Summary

Resolution
(depending on looks, incident angle and bandwidth) Hi-res: 7 - 44 m or 14 - 88 m, ScanSAR mode: 35 - 77 m or 70 - 154 m, Polarimetry: 24 - 88 m
[Best Resolution: 7m]
Swath
High resolution mode: 70 km, Scan SAR mode: 250 - 360 km, Polarimetry: 30 km
[Max Swath: 360 km]
Accuracy
Surface Resolution:10 m (Fine Mode); Surface Resolution:100 m (Scan Mode); Radiometric: ±1 dB
Waveband
Microwave: L-Band 1270 MHz
MW (~0.1 cm - ~100 cm)
L-Band (2 - 1 GHz)

SAR Parameters

Compiled from the 2026 Extended Parameters Survey, agency-nominated technical contacts and published user guides; not yet collected through the annual CEOS MIM survey.
Band
L-Band
Centre Frequency
1.27 GHz
Max Bandwidth
28 MHz
Polarisation Channels
HH · HV · VV · VH
Polarisation Modes
single · dual · quad
Look Direction
Right (nominal Right)
Antenna
Active phased array — 8.9 × 3.1 m
Polarisation Notes
Full-polarimetric capable (Stripmap)
Source
2026 Extended Parameters Survey (JAXA, 2026-07-16)

Imaging Modes

Compiled from the 2026 Extended Parameters Survey, agency-nominated technical contacts and published user guides; not yet collected through the annual CEOS MIM survey.
ModeResolution az × rg (m)Swath (km)Incidence (°)PolarisationNESZ (dB)Bandwidth (MHz)
Fine - SinglePol FBS10 × 10708–60HH-2328
Fine - DualPol FBD10 × 10708–60HH+HV-2314
ScanSAR WD100 × 10035018–43HH-2528
Polarimetric FBQ10 × 10258–30HH+HV+VH+VV-2914

Instrument Missions

ALOS - Advanced Land Observing Satellite (2006 - 2011) alos_palsar

Instrument Measurements