CEOS EO HANDBOOK – INSTRUMENT SUMMARY - MAIA -
Full Name Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols Status Approved
Instrument Agencies NASA, ASI Maturity
Instrument Type Imaging multi-spectral radiometers (vis/IR) Geometry Push-broom scanning
Instrument Technology Multi-channel/direction/polarisation radiometer Sampling Imaging
Data Access Open Access Data Format NetCDF4
Measurements and Applications Pushbroom spectropolarimetric camera on a 2-axis gimbal for multiangle viewing, frequent revisits over targets, and inflight calibration. Major metropolitan areas are sampled with sub-km spatial resolution to study impacts of different types of particulate matter on human health.
Resolution Summary 250 m (@ 740 km orbit altitude)
[Best Resolution: 195m]
Swath Summary 237 km @ nadir
[Max Swath: 500 km]
Accuracy Summary <4% (radiometric uncertainty),< 0.005 degree of linear polarization uncertainty
Waveband Summary 365, 387, 415, 442*, 550, 645*, 749, 762.5, 866, 945, 1040*, 1610, 1885, and 2125 nm (*polarimetric)
UV (~0.01 µm - ~0.40 µm)
VIS (~0.40 µm - ~0.75 µm)
NIR (~0.75 µm - ~1.3 µm)
SWIR (~1.3 µm - ~3.0 µm)
Instrument Measurements
Measurements Overview
CategoryParameter
AerosolsAerosol optical depth (TC)
Aerosol absorption optical depth (TC)
Cloud type, amount and cloud top temperatureCloud imagery
Cloud top height
Radiation budgetShort-wave Earth surface bi-directional reflectance
Thematic Links Global Climate Observing System Essential Climate Variables (GCOS ECVs)
ECVDescriptionProduct(s)ECV Inventory 3.0 Record(s)
Aerosols properties click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Instrument Missions
MAIA - Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (2026 - 2029)