| Instrument | Status/
Accuracy | Instrument Description | Measurement Technology | Timeline |
AEISS
Advanced Electronic Image Scanning System | Operational
| High resolution imager for land applications of cartography and disaster monitoring. | High resolution optical imager |  |
AEISS-A
Advanced Electronic Image Scanning System-A | Operational
| High resolution imager for land applications of cartography and disaster monitoring. | High resolution optical imager | |
AGRI
Advanced Geosynchronous Radiation Imager | Operational
| A multiple channel radiation imager, one of the primary instruments aboard FY-4. Technically featured by a precisely designed two-mirror structure, capable of accurate and flexible sensing in two dimensions, and minute-level fast sector scanning. Frequent Earth imaging over 14 bands with off-axis three reflections of the primary optic system. On-board black body available for IR calibrations at very short time intervals. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
AMI
Advanced Meteorological Imager | Operational
| Continuous monitoring capability for the near real-time generation of high-resolution meteorological products and long-term change analysis of land/sea surface temperature and cloud coverage. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
ASTER
Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer | Operational
| Surface and cloud imaging with high spatial resolution, stereoscopic observation of local topography, cloud heights, volcanic plumes, and generation of local surface digital elevation maps. Surface temperature and emissivity. ASTER SWIR detectors are no longer functioning due to anomalously high SWIR detector temperatures. ASTER SWIR data acquired since April 2008 are not useable, and show saturation of values and severe striping. All attempts to bring the SWIR bands back to life have failed, and no further action is envisioned. | High resolution optical imager | |
AVHRR/3
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/3 | Operational
| Measurements of land and sea surface temperature, cloud cover, snow and ice cover, soil moisture and vegetation indices. Data also used for volcanic eruption monitoring. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
AWiFS
Advanced Wide Field Sensor | Operational
| Vegetation and crop monitoring, resource assessment (regional scale), forest mapping, land cover/ land use mapping, and change detection. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
C-Band SAR
C-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar | Operational
| Marine core services, land monitoring and emergency services. Monitoring sea ice zones and arctic environment. Surveillance of marine environment, monitoring land surface motion risks, mapping of land surfaces (forest, water and soil, agriculture), mapping in support of humanitarian aid in crisis situations. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
COSI
Corea SAR Instrument | Operational
| SAR for land applications of cartography and disaster monitoring. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
C-SAR
C-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use, urban studies. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
CSG SAR
COSMO-SkyMed di Seconda Generazione SAR | Operational
| All-weather images of ocean, land and ice for monitoring of land surface processes, ice, environmental monitoring, risk management, environmental resources, maritime management, Earth topographic mapping. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
CZI
Coastal Zone Imager | Operational
| Imagery of coastal regions - estuaries, tidal regions, etc. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
Geoton-L1 (2)
Geoton-L1 | Operational
| Multispectral images of land surfaces and Oceans. | High resolution optical imager | |
High Resolution Optical Sensor (CAS500-1)
High Resolution Optical Sensor (CAS500-1) | Operational
| Cartography, land use and planning | High resolution optical imager | |
HiRAIS
High-Resolution Advanced Imaging System | Operational
| Biomass, FAPAR, fraction of vegetated land, land cover, LAI, NDVI, vegetation type. | High resolution optical imager | |
HiRI
High-Resolution Imager | Operational
| Cartography, land use, risk, agriculture and forestry, civil planning and mapping, digital terrain models, defence. | High resolution optical imager | |
HRMX
High Resolution Multi Spectral | Operational
| For crops and vegetation dynamics, natural resources census, disaster management and large scale mapping of themes. | High resolution optical imager | |
HSI
Hyperspectral Imager | Operational
| Detailed monitoring and characterization of rock and soil targets, vegetation, inland and coastal waters on a global scale. | High resolution optical imager | |
HSI-2 (HJ-2A)
Hyper Spectrum Imager 2 | Operational
| Hyperspectral measurements for environment and disaster management operations. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
HYC
HYperspectral Camera | Operational
| Hyperspectral data for complex land ecosystem studies. | n/a | |
IRMSS-2 (HJ-2)
Infrared Multispectral Scanner - 2 | Operational
| Infrared measurements for environment and natural disaster monitoring. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
IRS
Thermal and Multispectral Scanner | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use. | n/a | |
KHCS
KhalifaSat Camera System | Operational
| Biomass, FAPAR, fraction of vegetated land, land cover, LAI, NDVI, vegetation type. | High resolution optical imager | |
KMSS
Multispectral Imager (VIS) system | Operational
| Multispectral images of land & sea surfaces and ice cover. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
KShMSA-VR
High resolution wide capture multispectral optical sensor | Operational
| Land surface and ocean monitoring | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
LISS-III (Resourcesat)
Linear Imaging Self Scanner - III (Resourcesat) | Operational
| Data used for vegetation type assessment, resource assessment, crop stress detection, crop production forecasting, forestry, land use and land cover change. | High resolution optical imager | |
LISS-IV
Linear Imaging Self Scanner - IV | Operational
| Vegetation monitoring, improved crop discrimination, crop yield, disaster monitoring and rapid assessment of natural resources. | High resolution optical imager | |
MBEI
Multi-Band Earth Imager | Operational
| Multispectral scanner images of land surface. | High resolution optical imager | |
MIRS
Middle IR Scanner | Operational
| Scanner images of land surface in middle infra-red range. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
MODIS
MODerate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer | Operational
| Data on biological and physical processes on the surface of the Earth and in the lower atmosphere, and on global dynamics. Surface temperatures of land and ocean, chlorophyll fluorescence, land cover measurements, cloud cover (day and night). | n/a | |
MS
Multispectral Imager | Operational
| Vegetation and land cover, land cover change. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
MSC
Multi-Spectral Camera | Operational
| High resolution imager for land applications of cartography and disaster monitoring. | High resolution optical imager | |
MSI (BJ-2)
Multispectral Imager | Operational
| SSTL-300 S1 Imager also known as VHRI 100 (Very High Resolution Imager 100). | High resolution optical imager | |
MSI (Sentinel-2)
Multi-Spectral Instrument (Sentinel-2) | Operational
| Optical high spatial resolution imagery over land and coastal areas for Copernicus operational services. | High resolution optical imager | |
MSS
Multispectral imaging system | Operational
| Multispectral images of land & sea surfaces and ice cover. | High resolution optical imager | |
MSU-MR
Low-resolution multispectral scanning imager-radiometer | Operational
| Parameters of clouds, snow, ice and land cover, vegetation, surface temperature, fire detection. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
MUX (CBERS-4)
Multispectral CCD Camera | Operational
| Agriculture; Forestry; Geology; Natural disaster management; Cartography; Environment monitoring; Fire detection, localization and counting; Hydrology, coastal water mapping; Land use; Surveillance and law enforcement | High resolution optical imager | |
MUX (CBERS-4A)
Multispectral CCD Camera | Operational
| Agriculture; Forestry; Geology; Natural disaster management; Cartography; Environment monitoring; Fire detection, localization and counting; Hydrology, coastal water mapping; Land use; Surveillance and law enforcement | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
MUX (GF-1)
Multispectral CCD Camera | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use. | High resolution optical imager | |
MUX (GF-2)
Multispectral CCD Camera | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use. | High resolution optical imager | |
MUX (ZY-3-02)
Multispectral CCD Camera | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use. | High resolution optical imager | |
MVIRS
Moderate Resolution Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectroradiometer | Operational
| Measures surface temperature and cloud and ice cover. Used for snow and flood monitoring and surface temperature. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
MWIR (GF-4)
Medium Wavelength Infrared Camera | Operational
| Infrared measurements for environmental and natural disaster monitoring. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
MX (Cartosat-3)
Multispectral VNIR | Operational
| High resolution land observation and cartography | High resolution optical imager | |
NAOMI (MS)
New Astrosat Optical Modular Imager (MS) | Operational
| NAOMI - MS (2m GSD, 10.3km Swath) is a TMA opto-mechanical instrument employing 24-stage TDI scanning. Data is used for various applications including cartography, land use planning and management, national security, etc. | High resolution optical imager | |
NAOMI (PAN)
New Astrosat Optical Modular Imager (PAN) | Operational
| NAOMI - PAN (0.5m GSD, 10.3km Swath) is a TMA opto-mechanical instrument employing a line scanning technique. Data is used for various applications including cartography, land use planning and management, national security, etc. | High resolution optical imager | |
NigeriaSat 2 Remote Sensing (Med and High Res)
NigeriaSat 2 Remote Sensing (Med and High Res) | Operational
| High resolution images for monitoring of land surface and coastal processes and for agricultural, geological and hydrological applications. | High resolution optical imager | |
NigeriaSat X Remote Sensing (Medium Resolution)
NigeriaSat X Remote Sensing (Medium Resolution) | Operational
| High resolution images for monitoring of land surface and coastal processes and for agricultural, geological and hydrological applications. | High resolution optical imager | |
OLCI
Ocean and Land Colour Imager | Operational
| Marine and land services. | n/a | |
OLI
Operational Land Imager | Operational
| Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications. | High resolution optical imager | |
OLI-2
Operational Land Imager 2 | Operational
| Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications. | High resolution optical imager | |
PALSAR-2
Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-2 | Operational
| Disaster monitoring, land monitoring, agricultural monitoring, natural resource exploration, global forest monitoring, potential use and interferometry. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
PAN (BJ-2)
Panchromatic Imager | Operational
| SSTL-300 S1 Imager also known as VHRI 100 (Very High Resolution Imager 100). | High resolution optical imager | |
PAN (Cartosat-2A/2B)
Panchromatic Camera | Operational
| High resolution stereo images for large scale (better than 1:0000) mapping applications, urban applications, GIS ingest. | High resolution optical imager | |
PAN (Cartosat-3)
Panchromatic sensor | Operational
| High resolution images for study of topography, urban areas, development of DTM, run-off models etc. Urban sprawl, forest cover/timber volume, land use change. | High resolution optical imager | |
PAN (CBERS-4)
Panchromatic and Multispectral Imager | Operational
| Agriculture; Forestry; Geology; Natural disaster management; Cartography; Environment monitoring; Fire detection, localization and counting; Hydrology, coastal water mapping; Land use; Surveillance and law enforcement | High resolution optical imager | |
PAN (GF-1)
Panchromatic and multispectral imager | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use, urban studies. | High resolution optical imager | |
PAN (GF-2)
Panchromatic and multispectral imager | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use, urban studies. | High resolution optical imager | |
PAN (ZY Series)
Panchromatic and multispectral imager | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use | High resolution optical imager | |
Paz SAR-X
X Band Synthetic Aperture Radar | Operational
| High resolution X-band radar for security, land use, urban management, environmental monitoring, risk management. Different acquisition modes: Spotlight (5 x 5-10 km SSD =<1 m), Scansar (100 x 100 km, SSD <=15 m); Stripmode (strips of 30 x 30 km with SSD 3 m). | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
Pelican
Planet Pelican Instrument | Operational
| Very high resolution sensor which will replenish and improve upon the capabilities of the existing SkySat instruments. | High resolution optical imager | |
PSS
Panchromatic imaging system | Operational
| Panchromatic data for environmental monitoring, agriculture and forestry. | High resolution optical imager | |
SAR (RADARSAT-2)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) C band | Operational
| All-weather images of ocean, ice and land surfaces. Used for monitoring of coastal zones, polar ice, sea ice, sea state, geological features, vegetation and land surface processes. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
SAR (RCM)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) C band | Operational
| All-weather, C-band data to support ecosystem monitoring, maritime surveillance and disaster management. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
SAR (RISAT)
Synthetic Aperature Radiometer (RISAT) | Operational
| Radar backscatter measurements of land, water and ocean surfaces for applications in soil moisture, crop applications (under cloud cover), terrain mapping, etc. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
SAR 2000
Synthetic Aperture Radar - 2000 | Operational
| All-weather images of ocean, land and ice for monitoring of land surface processes, ice, environmental monitoring, risk management, environmental resources, maritime management, Earth topographic mapping. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
SAR-L
L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar | Operational
| Land, ocean, emergencies, soil moisture, interferometry, others. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
S-band SAR
S-band SAR | Operational
| SAR imagery for a range of applications including agriculture, maritime and forestry | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
SGLI
Second-generation Global Imager | Operational
| Medium resolution multi-spectral imaging of land, ocean and atmosphere. SGLI-VNR is an optical sensor capable of multi-channel nadir observation at wavelengths from near-UV to NIR and forward or backward polarization observation at red and near infrared wavelengths (Push-broom scanning). SGLI-IRS is an optical sensor capable of multi-channel nadir observation at wavelengths from SWIR to TIR wavelengths (Cross-track scanning). | n/a | |
SLIM-6-22
Surrey Linear Imager - 6 channel - 22m resolution | Operational
| Visible and NIR imagery in support of disaster management - part of the Disaster Management constellation. | High resolution optical imager | |
TOP (MS)
THEOS Optical Payload (MS) | Operational
| THEOS Optical Payload - MS (15m GSD, 90km Swath) is a refractive instrument employing a line scanning tehchnique. Data is used for various applications including cartography, land use planning and management, national security, etc. | High resolution optical imager | |
TOP (PAN)
THEOS Optical Payload (PAN) | Operational
| THEOS Optical Payload - PAN (2m GSD, 22km Swath) is a cassegrain type opto-mechanical instrument employing a line scanning technique. Data is used for various applications including cartography, land use planning and management, national security, etc. | High resolution optical imager | |
VIIRS
Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite | Operational
| Global observations of land, ocean, and atmosphere parameters: cloud/weather imagery, sea-surface temperature, ocean colour, land surface vegetation indices. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
VIRR
Multispectral Visible and Infra-red Scan Radiometer (10 channels) | Operational
| Multispectral Visible and Infra-red Scan Radiometer. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
VISSR-2
Stretched Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer-2 | Operational
| Meteorological. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
VNIR (GF-4)
Visible and Near-Infrared Camera | Operational
| Infrared measurements for environmental and natural disaster monitoring. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
VSC
Venus Superspectral Camera | Operational
| High resolution superspectral images (12 spectral bands) for vegetation and landcover applications. | High resolution optical imager | |
WFI (Amazonia-1)
Wide Field Imager (Amazonia-1) | Operational
| Used for fire extent detection measurement, coastal and vegetation monitoring, land cover and land use mapping. WFI (Amazonia-1) is the same instrument as WFI (CBERS), however due to differences in orbital altitude, they have different spatial resolution | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
WFI (CBERS-4)
Wide Field Imager (CBERS) | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use. WFI (Amazonia-1) is the same instrument as WFI (CBERS), however due to differences in orbital altitude, they have different spatial resolutions. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
WFI (CBERS-4A)
Wide Field Imager | Operational
| Agriculture; Forestry; Geology; Natural disaster management; Cartography; Environment monitoring; Fire detection, localization and counting; Hydrology, coastal water mapping; Land use; Surveillance and law enforcement | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
WFV
Wide Field View | Operational
| Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land use. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
WPM
Wide Swath Panchromatic and Multispectral Camera | Operational
| Agriculture; Forestry; Geology; Natural disaster management; Cartography; Environment monitoring; Fire detection, localization and counting; Hydrology, coastal water mapping; Land use; Surveillance and law enforcement | High resolution optical imager | |
WSAR
WSAR | Operational
| High resolution radar measurements of land and ocean features. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
WVC-2
Wide View CCD camera - 2 | Operational
| Multispectral measurements of Earth's surface for natural enviroment and disaster applications. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
X-Band SAR
X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar | Operational
| High resolution images for monitoring of land surface and coastal processes and for agricultural, geological and hydrological applications. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
AEISS-HR
Advanced Electronic Image Scanning System-High Resolution | Being developed
| High resolution imager for land applications of cartography and disaster monitoring | High resolution optical imager | |
AEISS-HR-A
Advanced Electronic Image Scanning System-High Resolution-A | Being developed
| High resolution imager for land applications of cartography and disaster monitoring | High resolution optical imager | |
ALISS III
Advanced LISS III | Being developed
| For crops and vegetation dynamics, natural resources census, disaster management and large scale mapping of themes. | High resolution optical imager | |
AMSI
Advanced Multi-Spectral Instrument | Being developed
| Optical high spatial resolution imagery over land and coastal areas for Copernicus operational services. | High resolution optical imager | |
AOLCI
Advanced Ocean and Land Colour Imager | Being developed
| Visible and near-infrared hyperspectral radiometer supporting a wide range of Marine, Land, Atmosphere and Climate Services. Provides enhanced continutity of ocean colour and land colour measurements from OLCI and enhanced synergy with ASLSTR | n/a | |
APAN
Advanced PAN | Being developed
| High-resolution images for the study of topography, urban areas, development of DTM, run-off models etc., urban sprawl, forest cover/timber volume, land use change. | High resolution optical imager | |
ASLSTR
Advanced Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer | Being developed
| Dual-view conical scanner with channels in the VIS, NIR SWIR TIR, supporting a wide range of Marine, Land, Atmosphere and Climate Services. Provides enhanced continutity of SST and LST measurements from SLSTR and enhanced synergy with AOLCI | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
CERIA Camera
CERIA Camera (True Color) | Being developed
| THEOS-2 Small Satellite's optical payload consists of RGB bayer type sensors (5.9km x 5.9km). Data is used for general monitoring and disasters. | High resolution optical imager | |
CWFMS
Canadian Wildland Fire Monitoring Sensor | Being developed
| Measurements are: Fire Radiative Power (FRP), hotspot locations, rate of spread, burned area mapping. Data products generated: 1) Fire maps, showing location, extent, and timing of forest fire events; 2) Fire characteristics, such as fire line intensity, rate of spread and fuel consumption; 3) Plume dynamics through smoke transport maps and plume heights; 4) Mass of carbon released into atmosphere. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
HYC2
HYperspectral Camera 2 | Being developed
| Hyperspectral data for complex land ecosystem studies. | n/a | |
LISS-V
Linear Imaging Self Scanner-V | Being developed
| Vegetation monitoring, improved crop discrimination, crop yield, disaster monitoring and rapid assessment of natural resources. | High resolution optical imager | |
METimage
Multi Spectral Imager | Being developed
| Operational multi spectral imager for meteorological EPS-SG VIS/IR Imaging Mission (VII): imagery data for global and regional NWP, NWC, and climate monitoring with information on LST, SST, clouds coverage, height and micro-physics, land surfaces (vegetation, snow/ice, fire), water vapour column, aerosol and atmospheric motion vectors. Provides collocated cloud mask, height & characterisation as well as intra-pixel heterogeneity to other EPS-SG missions (with larger footprint). | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
Optical Instrument (CO3D)
Optical Instrument (CO3D) | Being developed
| Will provide global Digital Surface Models of landmasses between +- 70° latitudes with a resolution of 1 m and in 3D. | High resolution optical imager | |
PALSAR-3
Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-3 | Being developed
| Disaster monitoring, land monitoring, agricultural monitoring, natural resource exploration, global forest monitoring, potential use and interferometry. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
SAR (KOMPSAT-6)
SAR (KOMPSAT-6) | Being developed
| High resolution radar for land applications of cartography and disaster monitoring | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
SBG VSWIR Instrument
Visible and Short-Wave Infrared (VSWIR) Instrument | Being developed
| Imaging spectrometer to provide information on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, hydrology, weather, climate, and solid Earth. | n/a | |
VIREO on SBG-TIR
Visible and Near-Infrared Camera on SBG-TIR | Being developed
| Observations will be used for geolocation and to produce retrieved estimates of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
CAR
High Resolution Camera | Approved
| Panchromatic and multispectral (Vis/IR) measurements with high spatial resolution, with stereo capability for DEM generation. Applications in emergencies in general, agriculture, land use/land cover, change detection, urban environment, cartography, topography. | High resolution optical imager | |
High Resolution Optical Sensor (CAS500-2)
High Resolution Optical Sensor (CAS500-2) | Approved
| Cartography, land use and planning | High resolution optical imager | |
MSI (Atlantic Constellation PF)
Multi-spectral imager (Atlantic Constellation Pathfinder) | Approved
| Multi-purpose optical imagery. Demonstrate the key technologies asociated with the project such as enhanced AI processesing and inter satellite links allowing tasking even when not above a ground station. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
OEK VR
Multispectral optoelectronic high resolution module | Approved
| Multispectral images of land surfaces and Oceans. | High resolution optical imager | |
Advanced KMSS
Advanced Multispectral Imager (VIS) | Proposed
| Multispectral images of land & sea surfaces and ice cover. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
Advanced MSU-MR
Advanced Multispectral scanning imager-radiometer | Proposed
| Parameters of clouds, snow, ice and land cover, vegetation, surface temperature, fire detection. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
BIK-SD 1
High resolution wide capture multispectral infraredoptical sensor | Proposed
| Provides a simultaneous taking of images of an object in several spectral bands of thermal range with detection and registration of land-based, subsurface-based and space-based objects. | Multi-purpose imaging Vis/IR radiometer | |
LandIS
Landsat Next Instrument Suite | Proposed
| Measures surface radiance, land cover state and change (e.g., vegetation type), and longwave termal infrared surface emittance. Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications. | High resolution optical imager | |
L-Band SAR
L-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar | Proposed
| Global observation of dynamic processes in the bio-, cryo-, geo- and hydrosphere. | Imaging radar (SAR) | |
X-Band SAR
TerraSAR-FOX | Proposed
| SAR images for monitoring of land surface and coastal processes. | n/a | |