ADEOS SENSORS


  1. Ocean Color Temperature Scanner
  2. Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer
  3. Interferometric Monitor for Greenhouse Gases
  4. Retroreflector in Space
  5. 10th ILAS Science Team Meeting held on October 3 and 4, 1995

Ocean Color Temperature Scanner

Yuji Miyachi
ADEOS Mission Instrument Manager
Earth Observation Satellite Department, National Space Development Agency of Japan


The Ocean Color Temperature Scanner (OCTS) was transferred to the ADEOS system last October after the OCTS performance evaluation. OCTS was subsequently installed in the ADEOS system and successfully completed the following system tests.

  1. Initial Electrical Performance Test
    Observation mode, optical calibration mode, and electrical calibration mode data were acquired and evaluated. These data confirmed that the OCTS performance was the same as that before OCTS was installed in ADEOS.

  2. Mechanical Environmental Tests (including Acoustic, Vibration, and Shock tests)
    These tests confirmed that OCTS could withstand the mechanical environments anticipated during launch and operation.

  3. Post Mechanical Electrical Performance Test
    Observation mode and internal lamp calibration mode data were acquired and evaluated. No major difference existed between these data and Initial Electrical Performance Test data.

  4. Earth Observation Center (EOC) Compatibility Test
    Compatibility between the satellite and the ground station was confirmed, and OCTS data could be received and recorded properly by EOC.

OCTS will be tested during the first three months after its launch aboard ADEOS. The study to determine this checkout procedure is now in process. The operation mode and acquired data were almost decided. Engineers have just begun to study the acquired data in detail.

Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer

Yuji Miyachi
ADEOS Mission Instrument Manager
Earth Observation Satellite Department, National Space Development Agency of Japan


The Status of the Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer (AVNIR) is almost the same as that of OCTS. The evaluations of AVNIR on ADEOS proceeded smoothly, and no major problems were found.

Interferometric Monitor for Greenhouse Gases

Namio Nakajima
IMG Project Manager
Japan Resources Observation System Organization


The Interferometric Monitor for Greenhouse Gases (IMG) protflight model (PFM) delivered to JAXA by the Japan Resources Observation System Organization (JAROS) was incorporated into ADEOS at the Tsukuba Space Center, and the system PFT began in December 1994.

The system PFTs, including the initial visual inspection, the initial electrical performance test, the mechanical environment tests (acoustic, vibration, and shock), and the electrical performance after the mechanical environment test, have already been completed. These tests all confirmed that the IMG is operating properly.

The thermal vacuum test, the final electrical performance test, and the IMG unit test will be performed hereafter. The IMG unit test is one of the most important tests for IMG in the ADEOS system PFT.

The IMG movable parts are the scanning mirror, the image motion compensator (IMC), and a vibration isolating mechanism to suppress transmission of the cooler compressor vibration to the IMG optical section.

To protect these parts from the intense acoustic environment and vibration of launch, they are mechanically fixed by the launch lock mechanisms which are released on orbit. The mechanisms remain locked because the launch lock cannot be reapplied while the IMG is incorporated into the satellite system.

The IMG can only be tested under severely limited operation conditions on the ground when the IMG is installed in the ADEOS. An IMG unit test is thus necessary to perform launch lock release tests and full functional testing of the IMG to confirm that the required performance and functions can still be realized after the environmental tests.

After the final ADEOS electrical performance test, the IMG is removed from the ADEOS for the IMG unit test. IMG will be shipped to Tanegashima Space Center after compleletion of this unit test and reinstalled in ADEOS. The IMG unit test will be performed by JAROS as a part of the ADEOS system PFT from mid February to mid March 1996.

The Satellite Orbital Operation Handbook has already been prepared.

The IMG Data Information System (IMGDIS) is being developed by the Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center (ERSDAC) under contract with the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI). The retrieval algorithms are being developed by CRIEPI.

Retroreflector in Space

Nobuo Sugimoto
RIS Science Team Leader
National Institute for Environmental Studies


The Retroreflector in Space (RIS) is a 0.5-m aperture, single-element hollow corner-cube retroreflector for laser long-path absorption measurement of atmospheric trace species. A new hollow retroreflector design was developed for RIS to optimize the pattern of the reflected beam. A spherical mirror with very small curvature is used for one of the three retroreflector mirrors. Velocity aberration caused by the satellite movement is compensated with the effects of the curved mirror and the spoiled dihedral angles between the curved mirror and the plane mirrors. RIS has high reflectance in wavelengths from 350 nm to 14 microns.

The National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES/JEA) plans to measure O3, CFC12, HNO3, CO, N2O, and CH4 in cooperation with the Communications Research Laboratory (CRL) using pulsed CO2 lasers and their second and third harmonics from the optical satellite tracking facility at CRL in Koganei, Tokyo. The CO2 laser transmitter/receiver system has been installed at the facility, and preliminary experiments using a ground target are being conducted.

Beside the experiment planned by NIES and CRL from Tokyo, research themes are being solicited through the ADEOS Research Announcement published by JAXA and JEA. At present, the following three research subjects using RIS from independent ground stations have been selected:

  1. Laser Ranging and Atmospheric Measurements Using RIS from the UK
  2. Dual color Satellite Laser Ranging Measurements Using RIS
  3. Precise Determination of the ADEOS Orbit by Laser Ranging Technique
The construction and the tests of the RIS Protoflight Model (RIS PFM) have been completed. The interferogram of the RIS PFM agreed very well with the theoretical one. The difference in the three dihedral angles are only 4 microrad, 1.7 microrad, and 1.7 microrad. The ground tracks of ADEOS and the reflected laser intensity from the actual RIS in orbit have been calculated based on the measured interferogram for the ground stations at various latitudes. The results will be distributed to the PIs of the JRA subjects on RIS.

10th ILAS Science Team Meeting held on October 3 and 4, 1995

Yasuhiro Sasano
ILAS Project Leader and Science Team Leader
National Institute for Environmental Studies


The 10th ILAS Science Team Meeting was held on October 3 and 4, 1995 at the National Institute for Environmental Studies. The meeting was also held as the 2nd ILAS Sensor Team meeting, to which some JRA-PIs were invited There were 16 participants from the ILAS science team, and 4 from JRA-PIs. The total number of participants was 64, including 14 from overseas.

On the morning of October 3, Yasuhiro Sasano opened the meeting with introductory remarks on the overall status of the ILAS project, followed by a discussion on the ILAS data policy and the draft of the Memorandum of Understanding for participating in the ILAS Project that should be signed by all the researchers involved in the project. Following that were reports on the present status of the ADEOS project and the plan for initial checkout by Kazuya Kaku from JAXA, the results of ILAS instrument performance experiments by Makoto Suzuki, and the status of the development of the ILAS Data Handling Facility (HDF) by Hiroshi Kanzawa.

In the afternoon, status reports on the development of data processing software were presented by Tatsuya Yokota, Noritaka Katatani, Hiroe Tsubaki and Makoto Suzuki. Yokota also chaired the session on algorithm studies that included presentations by Teruyuki Nakajima, Tsubaki, Jean-Michel Hartmann, Yokota, Prasad Varanasi, Hiroshi Hanaizumi and Kwang-Mog Lee. This session covered a variety of topics including retrieval algorithms, channel weighting, simple band models, new spectroscopic data, sun image processing for sunspot identification and model studies for diurnal change correction of NO2.

On October 4, the morning session was devoted to discussing algorithm studies for derivating of aerosol/PSCs optical properties and correcting of transmittance. Yasunobu Iwasaka presented an overview of the recent progress of PSCs observational studies, followed by three presentations by Hajime Okamoto, Oleg Dubovik and Larry Thomason on algorithms.

A discussion on the validation experiment plan was then held following a general overview by Hiroshi Kanazawa. Plans for the Kiruna balloon campaign were presented by Kanazawa, Alain Hauchecorne, Jean-Michel Hartmann, Frank Murcray, Yutaka Kondo and Toshinobu Machida. The Kiruna campaign will be carried out in cooperation with CNES and is scheduled for February and March 1997.

Other validation experiment plans for Syowa, Kiruna, Alaska and Arrival Heights, using mainly ground-based remote sensors, were reported by Kanzawa, Kondo, Andrew Matthews and Satoshi Koide. The cooperative validation experiment plans by French and German groups were also presented by Hauchecorne and Hartwig Gernant.

In the afternoon of the second day, there was discussion on validation analysis and data quality checks. The session was chaired by Yasuhiro Sasano and included a discussion on strategy for aerosol/PSCs validation, which requires special consideration because of the difficulty in direct comparison of aerosol/PSCs data obtained from the ILAS and the validation data provided by measurements using lidars, dust sondes, and so on. Andreas Herber presented results of SAGE II and sun photometer measurements as an example of the validation of SAGE II data.

The ILAS project has assigned several science team members as the chiefs of validation analysis and data quality checks for gases, aerosols and temperature. The chiefs were asked to report on the plans and status of preparing climatological data sets for validation and routine data quality checks. The chiefs who reported were Hideaki Nakane for ozone, Hiroshi Kanzawa for CH4 and H2O, Yutaka Kondo for NO2 and HNO3, Sachiko Hayashida for aerosols, and Masato Shiotani for temperature. Makoto Koike reported in place of Kondo, and Sasano, in place of Hayashida. Shiotani also made a presentation on simulation model outputs that could be useful for the same purposes.

The final session was chaired by Sasano and four presentations were made regarding possible scientific research by Richard Swinbank, Derek Cunnold, Jean-Michel Hartmann and Jae Park on the basis of their experiences in balloon-borne FTS, SAGEs and UARS research.

Finally, it was agreed that the next science team meeting where all the science team members and JRA-PIs will meet will be held around January 1997, when the initial quick comparison of ILAS data with ground-based validation data is expected to be finished.

The two-day meeting was concluded with a note of thanks to the participants for their active involvement and cooperation in the meeting.


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