RAMOS: A Space Mission With Real-Time Stereoscopy of Atmospheric Phenomena
Abstract
RAMOS (Russian American Observational Satellites), scheduled for launch in 2009, is a joint mission of the Russian Federation and the United States of America. Two low earth-orbit satellites with complementary instrument suites will fly in tandem orbits at an altitude of ∼ 500 km and a variable mean separation of ∼ 300 km. The satellites will be capable of simultaneous viewing of the same location on or above the earth's surface, allowing for real-time stereoscopic imaging of the earth's environment. The sensors suite is composed of pointable multifiltered infrared (1.5 - 7.5 μ m), visible, and ultraviolet imaging radiometers. The nominal spatial footprints are ∼ 100 m at the earth's surface. One satellite will have polarization capability, and the other will have an infrared spectrometer built into the radiometer. During its projected two-year lifetime, RAMOS will be used as a testbed for a variety of space-based measurements of the terrestrial environment that require real-time stereoscopy. These experiments will include: (1) simultaneous measurements of the altitudes and temperatures, to accuracies of ± 100 m and ± 2 K, respectively, of the cloud tops in the eyewalls of tropical cyclones, in order to test theoretical predictions that such measurements can provide, via remote sensing, an accurate determination of the intensity of a tropical cyclone; (2) simultaneous measurements of the altitudes and velocities of cloud fragments, to accuracies of ± 100;m and ± 10;m s-1, respectively, to determine the practicality and usefulness of such measurements for the purpose of numerical weather prediction; and (3) time-dependent tomography of volcanic plumes and of smoke clouds from forest fires and anthropogenic sources.
- Publication:
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AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004AGUSMGC51A..05J
- Keywords:
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- 0320 Cloud physics and chemistry;
- 0370 Volcanic effects (8409);
- 0394 Instruments and techniques;
- 3360 Remote sensing