Sensors

Sensors are instruments that collect data about Earth processes or atmospheric components. Along with being carried aboard satellites or aircraft, sensors also can be installed on the ground (in situ). There are two types of sensors: active and passive. Active sensors provide their own source of energy to illuminate the objects they observe; passive sensors detect energy emitted or reflected from the environment. The following list describes sensors aboard NASA and joint NASA missions.

Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR)
UAVSAR produces polarimetric and interferometric products that highlight different features and show changes in the earth over time.
Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS)
UARS was the first multi-instrumented satellite to observe numerous chemical constituents of the atmosphere with a goal of better understanding atmospheric photochemistry and transport.
Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS)
A scanning radiometer which provides high resolution observations on cloud coverage, cloud type, and cloud top temperatures.
Visible Infrared Imager-Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)
VIIRS collects visible and infrared imagery along with global observations of Earth’s land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and ocean.
Wide Field Camera (WFC)
The WFC is a modified version of the commercial off-the-shelf Ball Aerosopace CT-633 star tracker camera.
XUV Photometer System (XPS)
XUV Photometer System (XPS)