Ultraviolet-Shortwave Infrared Hyperspectral Module

The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is the next-generation imaging spectroradiometer for the NOAA/NASA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). The flexible VIIRS architecture proven in the successful first flight unit onboard Suomi NPP can be adapted and enhanced to respond to a wide range of requirements and to incorporate new technology as it becomes available. This paper reports on recent design studies to evaluate building an ultraviolet-shortwave infrared dispersive hyperspectral module into the existing VIIRS design architecture. Performance of this hyperspectral module was studied across a broad trade space defined primarily by spatial sampling, spectral range and spectral sampling interval. Spatial sampling occurs at VIIRS I-band (~0.4 km at nadir) spatial resolution with aggregation to M-band (~0.8 km) and larger pixel sizes to improve sensitivity. Radiometric sensitivity for this advanced VIIRS instrument compares favorably with expected user requirements for solar reflectance region spectroradiometry. Spectral aggregation to VIIRS multispectral bands would continue legacy I-band and M-band measurements with better sensitivity at the same spatial resolution. Likewise, MODIS bands with better sensitivity and sensitivity could be synthesized, too. Additional work is needed to optimize spectral range and spectral sampling approaches for the hyperspectral module and further refine this powerful imaging spectrometer concept.