NPOESS Microwave Imager/Sounder (MIS) Sensor Development for NPOESS C2

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Integrated Program Office (IPO) is developing a multi-channel conical scanning Microwave Imager/Sounder (MIS) for the NPOESS C2 mission. The NPOESS MIS will continue and improve upon the legacy operational measurements of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS). Key features of the first MIS on NPOESS C2 include addition of channels at 6 and 10 GHz and improved horizontal spatial resolution compared to SSMIS. The first MIS will include Atmospheric Vertical Moisture Profiling (AVMP) and Vertical Temperature Profiling (AVTP) up to the 10 mb pressure level. The second MIS mission planned for NPOESS C3 will include the full Upper Atmospheric Sounding (UAS) capability up to 0.01 mb continuing the SSMIS measurement capability. Overall, MIS will fulfill 17 Environmental Data Records (EDR) including AVMP, AVTP, Sea Surface Wind Speed and Direction (SSWS/D), soil moisture, and Sea Surface Temperature (SST). Accordingly, MIS will be an integral part of the NPOESS mission supplying all-weather surface and atmospheric measurements.

Performance priorities for the MIS sensor are subdivided into five categories: 1) Core imaging capability representing the legacy SSM/I imaging channels plus the 10-GHz vertically- and horizontally-polarized channels, 2) AVTP and AVMP capabilities at the performance level of SSMIS, 3) all-weather sea surface temperature including 6-GHz vertically- and horizontally-polarized measurements with RFI mitigation to ensure uncontaminated brightness temperature over land as well as over ocean, 4) Polarimetric channels for retrieval of sea surface wind vector and 5) upper atmospheric temperature profile.

This presentation will describe the key performance characteristics and design priorities of the MIS antenna and receiver subsystem in support of Sensor Data Record (SDR) and EDR performance for the next generation operational microwave imager.