BackForwardInstrument:  MSI 

Instrument details
Acronym MSI
Full name Multi-Spectral Imager for Earth-CARE
Purpose Imagery in support of the main Earth-CARE instruments (ATLID and CPR, both nadir-pointing)
Short description 7 channels. Three telescopes, one for each sub-spectral range (VNIR, SWIR and TIR) [see detailed characteristics below]
Background New development
Scanning Technique Pushbroom. Swath 150 km, asymmetrical in respect of the sub-satellite track (- 35 km one side, + 115 km other side)
Resolution 500 m IFOV
Coverage / Cycle Global coverage in 8 days (IR), 16 days (short-wave)
Mass 31 kg Power 86 W Data Rate 515 kbps

 

Providing Agency ESA
Instrument Maturity Backed by strong heritage
Utilization Period: 2024 to 2027
Last update: 2022-07-18
Detailed characteristics
Central wavelength Bandwidth SNR or NEΔT @ specified input
670 nm 20 nm 500 @ 1 % albedo
865 nm 20 nm 500 @ 1 % albedo
1670 nm 60 nm 250 @ 1 % albedo
2210 nm 100 nm 250 @ 1 % albedo
8.80 µm 0.9 µm 0.25 K @ 293 K
10.80 µm 0.9 µm 0.25 K @ 293 K
12.00 µm 0.9 µm 0.25 K @ 293 K
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
  • Moderate resolution optical imager
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • VIS/IR imagery; realisation of a Day/Night band [in SSO]
  • VIS/IR imager [in SSO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Cloud cover
  • Cloud optical depth
  • Cloud top height
  • Cloud top temperature
  • Cloud type
  • Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Biomass4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels. Biomass inferred from NDVI and LAI
Cloud cover*3 - highNo specific limitation.VIS, NIR and TIR channels
Cloud optical depth*3 - highLow-density cloud only.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Cloud top height*3 - highNo specific limitation.TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity) to estimate cloud top height from its temperature
Cloud top temperature*2 - very highNo specific limitation.TIR channels in window and water vapour band (for emissivity)
Cloud type*2 - very highNo specific limitation.VIS, NIR, SWIR and TIR channels
Downward short-wave irradiance at Earth surface3 - highCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Fire fractional cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.VIS and TIR channels
Fire radiative power5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR channels
Fire temperature5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.TIR channels
Land surface temperature4 - fairCloud sensitive.TIR split window channels around 11 micrometers for water vapour correction
Leaf Area Index (LAI)2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS and NIR channels
Sea surface temperature4 - fairCloud sensitive.TIR split window channels around 11 micrometers for water vapour correction
Short-wave cloud reflectance4 - fairNo specific limitation.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Snow cover2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels, enabling screening snow from clouds
Soil moisture at surface4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Index only.VIS, NIR, SWIR and TIR channels. Soil moisture inferred from differential brightness and thermal inertia
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)*2 - very highCloud sensitive.TIR channels around 6.3 micrometers and in the 11 micrometers split window
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA5 - marginalSpectral interpolation needed.. Information on BRDF needed.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Wind (horizontal)4 - fairLimited to high latitudes.. Cloud or water vapour tracers needed.TIR channels in the 11 micrometers window and the 6.3 micrometers water vapour band
Sea-ice cover2 - very highCloud sensitive.VIS, NIR (for contour enhancement), SWIR (for discrimination from clouds) and TIR channels