MASTER Airborne Multispectral Imagery for Instrument Validation

50 spectral bands of calibrated radiance data were collected during a single flight over California and Nevada on December 2, 1998. The dataset provides Level 1B georeferenced imagery at approximately 10-meter spatial resolution, covering wavelengths from 0.460 to 12.879 micrometers. This deployment was coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory for the primary purpose of validating the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) instrument.

Use Cases

• Calibrating and validating satellite-derived land surface temperature and emissivity models using the 50 spectral bands.
• Analyzing surface material composition through spectral reflectance signatures across visible to thermal infrared wavelengths.
• Developing georeferencing and atmospheric correction techniques for airborne sensor data.
• Studying regional land cover and thermal inertia features at high spatial resolution (approx. 10m).
• Comparing airborne multispectral data with concurrent satellite observations for cross-validation studies.

Strengths

• Provides high spectral resolution with 50 distinct bands covering a wide wavelength range from 0.460 to 12.879 µm.
• Offers fine spatial resolution of approximately 10 meters for detailed surface analysis.
• Includes ancillary data such as flight paths, instrument configuration, and spectral band information for precise context.

Limitations

• Data is from a single flight on a specific date (1998-12-02), limiting temporal analysis and generalizability.
• Sources conflict on the last updated metadata date (1998-12-02 vs. 2026-03 13), creating uncertainty about provenance maintenance.
• Primary file format is legacy HDF-4, which may require specialized software for access and processing.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Energy's Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) at Nellis Air Force Base, coordinated for NASA.

Collection Method

Data collected by the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) instrument aboard a DOE B-200 aircraft.

Time Range

1998-12-02

Freshness

2026-03-13 00:58:36.555953

Geography

California and Nevada, United States.