Skip to main content

The MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) is an airborne scanning spectrometer developed at NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC) with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to support validation of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) retrieval algorithms. The MASTER instrument is a modified Daedalus Wildfire scanning spectrometer that flies on a variety of multi-altitude research aircraft. It first flew in 1998. 

MASTER provides multispectral imagery in visible-shortwave infrared and thermal infrared bands covering wavelengths of 460 to 12,879 nanometers. MASTER has a pixel spatial resolution of 5 to 50 meters and has a swath width of 1.87 to 37.25 km depending on the flight altitude. It has a typical scan rate of 6.25 Hz. 

Learn more about MASTER

Specifications

Resolution

Spatial

5-50 m; variable and dependent on flight altitude; 2.5 mrad field of view with 716 cross-track elements.

Spectral

460 to 12,879 nm; 50 bands total: 11 bands in 457-945 nm, 14 bands in 1609-2394 nm, 15 bands in 3148-5263 nm, and 10 bands in 7760-12,878 nm 

Platforms

WB-57

Launch Date
April 2011

Related Data Centers/Projects

ORNL DAAC

NASA's Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center specializes in data and information relevant to terrestrial biogeochemistry, ecology, and environmental processes.
MASTER

The MASTER project manages the life cycle of data derived from the MASTER spectrometer.
FIREX-AQ

The FIREX-AQ campaign was an intensive study of the integrated impact of North American fire emissions on tropospheric chemistry and composition.

FireSense

The FireSense project leverages NASA’s unique Earth science and technological capabilities to meet the challenges of wildland fire management.
GEMx

The GEMx airborne campaign collects measurements over the country's arid and semi-arid regions, including parts of California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.

SARP

NASA’s Student Airborne Research Program is a summer internship for undergraduates to acquire hands-on research experience in a scientific field campaign.
TC4

NASA's Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling (TC4) project investigated the structure, properties, and processes in the tropical Eastern Pacific.
WDTS

WDTS is an ongoing field investigation focused on observing California’s ecosystems and providing information on natural disasters through multispectral imagery.

QUESTIONS & SUPPORT

Have a question?

Get help with NASA Earth science data, datasets, tools, services, and metadata on the Earthdata Forum. Experienced staff in the data user community review and answer questions.

Get help on Earthdata Forum
Earthdata
Forum