Landsat 9 Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) Pre- and Post-Launch Spatial Response Performance
The launch of Landsat 9 (L9) on 27 September 2021 marks the ongoing commitment of the Landsat mission to delivering users with calibrated Earth observations for fifty years. The two imaging sensors on L9 are the Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) and the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2). Shortly af...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-03-01
|
| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/6/1065 |
| _version_ | 1827305123186999296 |
|---|---|
| author | Rehman Eon Brian N. Wenny Ethan Poole Sarah Eftekharzadeh Kay Matthew Montanaro Aaron Gerace Kurtis J. Thome |
| author_facet | Rehman Eon Brian N. Wenny Ethan Poole Sarah Eftekharzadeh Kay Matthew Montanaro Aaron Gerace Kurtis J. Thome |
| author_sort | Rehman Eon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The launch of Landsat 9 (L9) on 27 September 2021 marks the ongoing commitment of the Landsat mission to delivering users with calibrated Earth observations for fifty years. The two imaging sensors on L9 are the Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) and the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2). Shortly after launch, the image data from OLI-2 and TIRS-2 were evaluated for both radiometric and geometric quality. This paper provides a synopsis of the evaluation of the spatial response of the TIRS-2 instrument. The assessment focuses on determining the instrument’s ability to detect a perfect knife edge. The spatial response was evaluated both pre- and post-launch. Pre-launch testing was performed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) under flight-like thermal vacuum (TVAC) conditions. On orbit, coastline targets were identified to evaluate the spatial response and compared against Landsat 8 (L8). The pre-launch results indicate that the spatial response of the TIRS-2 sensor is consistent with its predecessor on board L8, with no noticeable decline in image quality to compromise any TIRS science objectives. Similarly, the post-launch analysis shows no apparent degradation of the TIRS-2 focus during the launch and the initial operational timeframe. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:51:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-802738d2a13c49d984012364cd0ad13a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:51:48Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-802738d2a13c49d984012364cd0ad13a2024-03-27T14:02:46ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-03-01166106510.3390/rs16061065Landsat 9 Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) Pre- and Post-Launch Spatial Response PerformanceRehman Eon0Brian N. Wenny1Ethan Poole2Sarah Eftekharzadeh Kay3Matthew Montanaro4Aaron Gerace5Kurtis J. Thome6Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory (DIRS), Rochester Institute of Technology, 54 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USAScience Systems and Applications, Inc., 10210 Greenbelt Rd, Lanham, MD 20706, USADigital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory (DIRS), Rochester Institute of Technology, 54 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USAScience Systems and Applications, Inc., 10210 Greenbelt Rd, Lanham, MD 20706, USADigital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory (DIRS), Rochester Institute of Technology, 54 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USADigital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory (DIRS), Rochester Institute of Technology, 54 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAThe launch of Landsat 9 (L9) on 27 September 2021 marks the ongoing commitment of the Landsat mission to delivering users with calibrated Earth observations for fifty years. The two imaging sensors on L9 are the Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) and the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2). Shortly after launch, the image data from OLI-2 and TIRS-2 were evaluated for both radiometric and geometric quality. This paper provides a synopsis of the evaluation of the spatial response of the TIRS-2 instrument. The assessment focuses on determining the instrument’s ability to detect a perfect knife edge. The spatial response was evaluated both pre- and post-launch. Pre-launch testing was performed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) under flight-like thermal vacuum (TVAC) conditions. On orbit, coastline targets were identified to evaluate the spatial response and compared against Landsat 8 (L8). The pre-launch results indicate that the spatial response of the TIRS-2 sensor is consistent with its predecessor on board L8, with no noticeable decline in image quality to compromise any TIRS science objectives. Similarly, the post-launch analysis shows no apparent degradation of the TIRS-2 focus during the launch and the initial operational timeframe.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/6/1065Landsat 9 (L9)Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2)point spread function (PSF)modulation transfer function (MTF) |
| spellingShingle | Rehman Eon Brian N. Wenny Ethan Poole Sarah Eftekharzadeh Kay Matthew Montanaro Aaron Gerace Kurtis J. Thome Landsat 9 Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) Pre- and Post-Launch Spatial Response Performance Remote Sensing Landsat 9 (L9) Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2) point spread function (PSF) modulation transfer function (MTF) |
| title | Landsat 9 Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) Pre- and Post-Launch Spatial Response Performance |
| title_full | Landsat 9 Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) Pre- and Post-Launch Spatial Response Performance |
| title_fullStr | Landsat 9 Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) Pre- and Post-Launch Spatial Response Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Landsat 9 Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) Pre- and Post-Launch Spatial Response Performance |
| title_short | Landsat 9 Thermal Infrared Sensor-2 (TIRS-2) Pre- and Post-Launch Spatial Response Performance |
| title_sort | landsat 9 thermal infrared sensor 2 tirs 2 pre and post launch spatial response performance |
| topic | Landsat 9 (L9) Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2) point spread function (PSF) modulation transfer function (MTF) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/6/1065 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rehmaneon landsat9thermalinfraredsensor2tirs2preandpostlaunchspatialresponseperformance AT briannwenny landsat9thermalinfraredsensor2tirs2preandpostlaunchspatialresponseperformance AT ethanpoole landsat9thermalinfraredsensor2tirs2preandpostlaunchspatialresponseperformance AT saraheftekharzadehkay landsat9thermalinfraredsensor2tirs2preandpostlaunchspatialresponseperformance AT matthewmontanaro landsat9thermalinfraredsensor2tirs2preandpostlaunchspatialresponseperformance AT aarongerace landsat9thermalinfraredsensor2tirs2preandpostlaunchspatialresponseperformance AT kurtisjthome landsat9thermalinfraredsensor2tirs2preandpostlaunchspatialresponseperformance |