Mineral Type
Measurement Instruments
Measurement Definition: A mineral is a naturally occurring chemical compound, usually of crystalline form and abiogenic in origin. Whereas a rock can be an aggregate of different minerals, a mineral has one specific chemical composition. There are over 5,300 known mineral species. In remote sensing, specific minerals can be detected by their spectral signatures and other characteristics.
| Instrument | Status/
Accuracy | Instrument Description | Measurement Technology | Timeline |
| OLI | Operational | Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications. | n/a |  |
| OLI-2 | Operational | Measures surface radiance, land cover state, and change (e.g., vegetation type). Used as multi-purpose imagery for land applications. | n/a | |
| TIRS | Operational | Measures longwave thermal infrared surface emittance, land cover state, and change. Used as multipurpose imagery for land applications. | n/a | |
| TIRS-2 | Operational | Measures longwave thermal infrared surface emittance, land cover state, and change. Used as multipurpose imagery for land applications. TIRS-2 will adhere to the Landsat 8 TIRS instrument performance specifications but will be built to NASA Class-B instrument standards (including a 5-year design life). | n/a | |
| LandIS | 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. | n/a | |