TCSP ER-2 MODIS AIRBORNE SIMULATOR (MAS) V1

The TCSP ER-2 MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) dataset was collected by a MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS), which is a multi-spectral line-scanner system that acquires image data in 50 spectral bands over wavelengths ranging from 0.46 to 14.3 microns. Flown on the ER-2 aircraft at an operating altitude of 19.8 km (65,000 ft.), it produces nominal pixel sizes of 50 meters. MAS includes nine spectral bands in the visible/near infrared, 16 bands in the shortwave infrared, 16 bands in the mid-wave infrared, and nine bands in the thermal infrared regions of the spectrum. The instrument field-of-view is 86 degrees, with an IFOV of 2.5 mrad. The MAS collected calibrated multi-spectral imagery from the ER-2 aircraft during the TCSP experiment. The MAS was developed by NASA primarily to validate L1B and L2 science products from the EOS satellite program. MAS data enables (1) the mapping of sub-pixel variation within the co-incident footprints of many orbital instruments (e.g. MODIS, AIRS, HIRS, AVHRR, GOES) in the visible and thermal infrared spectral regions and (2) the estimation of surface, aerosol, and cloud properties at 50 meter spatial resolution. The TCSP mission collected data for research and documentation of cyclogenesis, the interaction of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind and air pressure that creates ideal birthing conditions for tropical storms, hurricanes and related phenomena. The goal of this mission was to help us better understand how hurricanes and other tropical storms are formed and intensify.