VJ201_NRT: VIIRS/JPSS2 Raw Radiance Counts

NASA's VIIRS/JPSS2 VJ201_NRT product delivers unpacked, raw sensor counts from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite aboard the JPSS-2 satellite. This Level 1A data includes science, calibration, and engineering data, along with extracted spacecraft ephemeris, attitude, and telemetry. Its near-real-time 6-minute swath format provides foundational radiance measurements for downstream environmental monitoring.

Use Cases

• Sensor calibration and validation based on raw science and calibration data packets.
• Satellite orbit and attitude reconstruction using extracted ephemeris and attitude data.
• Monitoring spacecraft health and performance via raw ADCS and bus-critical telemetry.
• Generating higher-level radiance and reflectance products from the foundational raw counts.

Strengths

• Produced by the authoritative source, NASA, ensuring data integrity and standard compliance.
• Provides raw, unpacked sensor counts, which are essential for calibration and precise scientific analysis.
• Available in near-real-time, supporting time-sensitive monitoring and research applications.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: specific column names, dataset size, and row counts are unknown across all platforms.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov without details, creating potential access uncertainty.
• Documentation is referenced via an external link only, requiring an additional step for users to understand the data structure.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by the VIIRS instrument on the JPSS-2 (Joint Polar Satellite System-2) satellite.

Freshness

Last updated on Data.gov as 2026-04-09, indicating active maintenance.

Geography

Global swath coverage from the satellite's polar orbit.