Multiangle Imaging of the Earth: Present and Future

The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard the Terra spacecraft is pioneering a new paradigm in remote sensing of the Earth's environment and climate system. MISR acquires radiometrically and geometrically calibrated imagery at moderately high spatial resolution (275 m) over a widely-spaced array of along-tracking viewing angles (up to 70" from local vertical). New algorithms developed especially for use with these data are demonstrating the ability to retrieve quantitative characteristics of aerosols over a wide variety of land surfaces, generate automated global stereoscopic cloud heights and height-resolved winds, retrieve cloud and surface albedos, distinguish polar clouds from snow and ice, and obtain textural information to distinguish different surface types. Successor mission concepts inspired by MISR seek to incorporate advances in optical, electronic, detector, and computational technologies to reduce the instrument size and mass, broaden the spectral coverage, obtain fine