BackForwardInstrument:  VSSC 

Instrument details
Acronym VSSC
Full name VENµS SuperSpectral Camera
Purpose Very-high-resolution land observation and detailed vegetation classification
Short description 12 VNIR channels [see detailed characteristics below]
Background New development
Scanning Technique Pushbroom. Swath 28 km. Tilting capability along and across track by up to ± 30° from nadir
Resolution 5.3 m at s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Any area can be viewed within 2 days by exploiting the pointing capability
Mass 43.5 kg Power 83 W Data Rate 800 Mbps

 

Providing Agency CNES
Instrument Maturity Backed by strong heritage
Utilization Period: 2017 to 2024
Last update: 2021-06-16
Detailed characteristics

Central wavelength

Bandwidth

SNR @ specified input spectral radiance

415 nm

40 nm

50 @ 40 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

440 nm

40 nm

80 @ 50 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

490 nm

40 nm

100 @ 30 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

555 nm

40 nm

100 @ 30 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

620 nm

40 nm

100 @ 20 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

620 nm  (highest quality for DEM)

40 nm

100 @ 20 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

667 nm

30 nm

100 @ 20 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

702 nm

24 nm

100 @ 15 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

742 nm

16 nm

100 @ 20 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

782 nm

16 nm

100 @ 30 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

865 nm

40 nm

100 @ 30 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

910 nm

20 nm

50 @ 30 W m-2 sr-1 µm-1

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
  • High resolution optical imager
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • High-resolution multi-spectral VIS/IR imagers
  • High-resolution multi-spectral VIS/IR imager
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Biomass
  • Fraction of Absorbed PAR (FAPAR)
  • Fraction of vegetated land
  • Leaf Area Index (LAI)
  • Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
  • Vegetation type
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
Biomass*5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Infrequent coverage.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels. Biomass inferred from NDVI
Cloud cover5 - marginalInfrequent coverage.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Cloud optical depth4 - fairLow-density cloud only.. Infrequent coverage.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Earth surface albedo5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Infrequent coverage.VIS channels
Fire fractional cover2 - very highDaylight only.. Cloud sensitive.VIS channels with high resolution for boundary detection
Fraction of Absorbed PAR (FAPAR)*3 - highHigh troposphere only.. Cloud sensitive.. Infrequent coverage.VIS channels including Red at 700 nm
Fraction of vegetated land*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Glacier cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Long time for mapping.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Glacier topography4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Long time for mapping.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s) and steering capability both cross and along track for stereoscopy both in-orbit and between orbits
Ice sheet topography4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Long time for mapping.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s) and steering capability both cross and along track for stereoscopy both in-orbit and between orbits
Land cover2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Land surface topography4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Long time for mapping.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s) and steering capability both cross and along track for stereoscopy both in-orbit and between orbits
Leaf Area Index (LAI)*4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.. Infrequent coverage.VIS and NIR channels. LAI inferred from NDVI
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)*2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Infrequent coverage.VIS and NIR channels
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)3 - highCloud sensitive.. Infrequent coverage.VIS channels, range accurately sampled
Short-wave cloud reflectance5 - marginalInfrequent coverage.VIS and NIR channels. Unsuitable dynamic range (saturation)
Snow cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Infrequent coverage.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Soil moisture at surface5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Infrequent coverage.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels. Soil moisture inferred from differential brightness
Soil type2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA5 - marginalSpectral interpolation needed.. Information on BRDF needed.. Infrequent coverage.VIS and NIR channels
Vegetation type*3 - highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Infrequent coverage.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Infrequent coverage.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Sea-ice cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR (for contour enhancement) channels