| Instrument | Status/
Accuracy | Instrument Description | Measurement Technology | Timeline |
ACDL
Aerosol and Carbon Detection Lidar | Operational
| For CO2 a pulsed dual-wavelength lidar alternately emits two pulsed lasers near 1572 nm in a sequential manner one in the CO2 absorption line and one off the line. For aerosol detection a high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) at 532 and 1064 nm. | n/a |  |
ACE-FTS
Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) Fourier Transform Spectrometer | Operational
+/-10 ppm | Measure and understand the chemical processes that control the distribution of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere, especially at high altitudes. | Limb-scanning IR spectrometer | |
AHSI
The Advanced Hyperspectral Imager | Operational
| Greenhouse Gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, etc), Atmospheric Pollutants (NO2, SO2, HCHO, etc) | n/a | |
AIRS
Atmospheric Infra-red Sounder | Operational
+/-1.5 ppm | High spectral resolution measurement of temperature and humidity profiles in the atmosphere. Long-wave Earth surface emissivity. Cloud diagnostics. Trace gas profiles. Surface temperatures. | n/a | |
CrIS
Cross-track Infrared Sounder | Operational
+/-2 ppm | Daily measurements of vertical atmospheric distribution of temperature, moisture, and pressure. MWIR non-operational on Suomi NPP effective 12 July 2021. | n/a | |
EMIT
Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation | Operational
| Imaging spectroscopy from the visible to short wavelength infrared (VSWIR) to determine surface mineral compostion in the Earth's arid land dust source regions. | High-resolution nadir-scanning SW spectrometer | |
GAS
Greenhouse gases Absorption Spectrometer | Operational
| Measures greenhouse gases. | High-resolution nadir-scanning SW spectrometer | |
HIRS/4
High Resolution Infra-red Sounder/4 | Operational
+/-4 ppm | Atmospheric temperature profiles and data on cloud parameters, humidity soundings, water vapour, total ozone content, and surface temperatures. Same as HIRS/3, with 10 km IFOV. | n/a | |
HSI
Hyperspectral Imager | Operational
| Detailed monitoring and characterization of rock and soil targets, vegetation, inland and coastal waters on a global scale. | n/a | |
HYC
HYperspectral Camera | Operational
| Hyperspectral data for complex land ecosystem studies. | n/a | |
IRAS
InfraRed Atmospheric Sounder | Operational
+/-2 ppm | Atmospheric sounding for weather forecasting. | n/a | |
Spectrometer (OCO-2)
Spectrometer (OCO-2) | Operational
+/-1 ppm | Global measurements of atmospheric CO2 and SIF needed to describe the variability of CO2 sources and sinks. | High-resolution nadir-scanning SW spectrometer | |
Spectrometer (OCO-3)
Spectrometer (OCO-3) | Operational
+/-1 ppm | Global measurements of atmospheric CO2 and SIF needed to describe the variability of CO2 sources and sinks. | High-resolution nadir-scanning SW spectrometer | |
TANSO-FTS
Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observation - Fourier Transform Spectrometer | Operational
+/-2 ppm | CO2 and CH4 distribution. | High-resolution nadir-scanning IR spectrometer | |
TANSO-FTS-2
Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observation - Fourier Transform Spectrometer-2 | Operational
| CO2, CH4, and CO distribution. | High-resolution nadir-scanning IR spectrometer | |
ACX
GeoXO Atmospheric Composition Instrument | Being developed
| | n/a | |
AIRMO Spectrometer
AIRMO Spectrometer | Being developed
| Precise and close to real-time data on CH4 and CO2 emissions | High-resolution nadir-scanning IR spectrometer | |
CO2I
Integrated CO2 & NO2 Imaging spectrometer | Being developed
| Pushbroom scanning spectrometer to provide relatively high spatial resolution CO2, CH4 and NO2 observations in support of estimating anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and CH4 in Copernicus. In addition, high quality NO2 and solar-induced fluorescence will be operationally delivered. | High-resolution nadir-scanning SW spectrometer | |
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. | n/a | |
IASI-NG
Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer - New Generation | Being developed
+/-20 % | Measures profiles of atmospheric temperature, humidity, ozone, carbon monoxide, columns of methane, nitrous oxide, and other minor gases, and sea, ice, and land surface temperature and emissivity. Provides information on aeorols and cloud: fractional coverage, phase, cloud top height (input to Polar AMVs) and particle size. Prime applications: NWP, AC/AQ, climate. Secondary applications: NWC, land/ocean surface monitoring. IASI-NG will resume IASI role as internationl standard for satellite inter-calibration (GSICS). | n/a | |
Microcarb
Microcarb | Being developed
| Measurement of CO2 concentration using CO2 absorption bands at 1607nm and 2046nm | High-resolution nadir-scanning SW spectrometer | |
Micro-LiDaR
Micro-LiDAR | Being developed
| | n/a | |
TANSO-3
Total Anthropogenic and Natural emissions mapping SpectrOmeter-3 | Being developed
| Global and regional concentration mapping of CO2, CH4, and NO2 for global monitoring of GHG concentrations, verification of emission inventories, and detection of emissions from large sources. | High-resolution nadir-scanning IR spectrometer | |
UVSQ-Sat NG Spectrometer
UVSQ-Sat NG Spectrometer | Being developed
| This NIR Spectrometer fits within a volume of less than 1 unit (10 × 10 × 10 cm) and has a 15 mm aperture. It is composed of a 300 groves/mm grating and an Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) linear image sensor equipped with a Peltier thermoelectric cooler, offering integration times ranging from 0.5 to 4 s. Improved results (GHG observations) can be achieved if the Uvsq-Sat NG NIR Spectrometer temperature is maintained below −5 °C. | n/a | |
COSIS
COSIS | Approved
| Independent verification of reported emissions as a cornerstone toward emission accounting and reduction measures such as agreed on in the Paris climate agreement. In 2018, coal-fired power plants accounted for 30% of the global man-made carbon dioxide emissions. | High-resolution nadir-scanning IR spectrometer | |
ScepterSat Instrument
ScepterSat Instrument | Proposed
| | n/a | |
TGSP
Trace Gas Spectrometer | Proposed
| Trace gas measurements. | n/a | |
TES
Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer | No longer operational
+/-1.3 ppm | 3D profiles on a global scale of all infra-red active species from surface to lower stratosphere. Measures greenhouse gas concentrations, tropospheric ozone, acid rain precursors, gas exchange leading to stratospheric ozone depletion. | High-resolution nadir-scanning IR spectrometer | |