LATEST FEATURED IMAGE FROM ASTER: |

Mackinac Island, Michigan
Mackinac Island, Michigan, is a small island off the northern coast of Lake Huron. Read More. Updated on 5/12/2025
May 13, 2025
ASTER VNIR and TIR Acquiring Data
On November 28, 2024, at 14:20 UTC, one of Terra's power-transmitting shunt units failed. As a result ASTER was put into Safe Mode. The Terra Flight Operations Team (FOT) resumed imaging with ASTER Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR) instrument on January 17, 2025. On February 01, 2025, the Terra Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument was put into safe mode. The FOT has continued monitoring power usage, and on April 15, 2025, ASTER Thermal Infrared (TIR) instrument resumed operations and began collecting data. Users should note the data gap in ASTER acquisitions from November 28, 2024, through January 16, 2025, for VNIR observations and a gap from November 28, 2024, through April 15, 2025 for TIR acquisitions. ASTER data can be accessed using NASAs Earthdata Search.
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is an imaging
instrument onboard Terra, the flagship satellite of NASA's Earth Observing System
(EOS) launched in December 1999.
ASTER is a cooperative effort between NASA, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry (METI), and Japan Space Systems
(J-spacesystems). ASTER data are used to create detailed maps of land surface temperature, reflectance,
and elevation. The coordinated system of EOS satellites, including Terra, is a major component
of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and the
Earth Science Division.
The goal of NASA Earth Science is to develop a scientific understanding of the Earth as an
integrated system, its response to change, and to better predict variability and trends in climate,
weather, and natural hazards.
Home
|