BackForwardInstrument:  GHGSat-Spectrometer 

Instrument details
Acronym GHGSat-Spectrometer
Full name GHGSat Imaging Spectrometer
Purpose To monitor total column amounts of CO2 and CH4.
Short description

The Fabry-Perot interferometer measures a narrow wavelength region between 1.6-1.7 microns selected for the presence of spectral features for methane and carbon dioxide. The spectral resolution is 0.1 nm.
Background

Developing small instruments to monitor greenhouse gases from nanosats.
Scanning Technique

Focal plane array of 640 x 512 to cover swath.
Resolution 25m at surface.
Coverage / Cycle Only available during daylight. Domain 15 X 10 km swath. 14 day revisit cycle at mid-latitudes.
Mass 5.4 kg Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency GHGSat
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2016 to 2030
Last update: 2026-06-01
Detailed characteristics
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
  • Cross-nadir shortwave (UV/VIS) sounder
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • NIR/SWIR imaging spectroscopy
  • NIR/SWIR imaging spectrometer
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • CH4 mole fraction
  • CO2 mole fraction
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
CH4 mole fraction*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Very-high resolution SWIR spectrometry. CH4 lines around 1.65 micrometers. Specifically designed for CH4.
CO2 mole fraction*1 - primaryCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.Very-high resolution SWIR spectrometry CO2 lines around 1.6 and 2.1 micrometers. Specifically designed for CO2.