PREFIRE: Polar Far-Infrared Radiance from CubeSat 1

63 spectral channels measure mid- to far-infrared radiation from 5 to 53 µm, a critical but previously under-measured part of the polar energy budget. The PREFIRE mission uses dual CubeSats to collect calibrated, geolocated radiance data with a temporal resolution of 0.707 seconds, primarily over polar regions. This data is processed to derive top-of-atmosphere spectral flux, surface emissivity, and atmospheric properties like cloud cover and temperature profiles for climate modeling.

Use Cases

• Assimilating far-infrared spectral radiance into global circulation models to improve climate predictions.
• Analyzing surface spectral emissivity and atmospheric temperature profiles over ice sheets.
• Characterizing cloud cover and water vapor profiles in polar regions using multi-channel infrared data.
• Studying the spatial and temporal variability of top-of-atmosphere spectral flux.

Strengths

• Provides unique, large-scale measurements in the critical far-infrared spectrum (5-53 µm) from polar regions.
• Offers high temporal resolution data at 0.707-second intervals for detailed scene analysis.
• Data is calibrated and geolocated, forming a direct input for higher-level scientific products.

Limitations

• Key metadata conflicts exist: data retrieval start date is listed as both 'July 24, 2024' and 'May TBD, 2024'.
• Specific column names and data schema are not provided in any source, hindering immediate technical use.
• Spatial footprint and swath dimensions are approximate and change over time as satellite altitude decreases.

Provenance

Source

NASA/LARC_CLOUD, from the PREFIRE-SAT1 CubeSat carrying the TIRS-PREFIRE push broom spectrometer.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing; calibrated radiance (1A-RAD) is geolocated using pointing telemetry and a Digital Elevation Map.

Time Range

Science data retrieval started in 2024 (conflict on exact month) and is ongoing.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04 09 on at least two platforms.

Geography

Global coverage, with the greatest concentration of data in the polar regions.