Results and lessons from a decade of Terra MODIS on-orbit spectral characterization

Since launch in 1999, the NASA EOS Terra MODIS has successfully operated for more than a decade. MODIS acquires data in 36 spectral bands with wavelengths ranging from visible (VIS) to long-wave infrared (LWIR) and at three nadir spatial resolutions: 250m for 2 bands, 500m for 5 bands, and 1km for 29 bands. In addition to its on-board calibrators (OBC), designed for sensor radiometric calibration and characterization, MODIS was built with a unique device called the spectro-radiometric calibration assembly (SRCA), which can be configured into three different modes: radiometric, spatial, and spectral. When it is operated in the spectral mode, the SRCA can monitor changes in sensor spectral performance for the VIS and near-infrared (NIR) spectral bands. For more than 10 years, the SRCA operations have continued to provide valuable information for Terra MODIS on-orbit spectral performance. This paper briefly describes Terra MODIS SRCA on-orbit operations and calibration activities and presents results derived from its decade-long spectral characterization, including changes in the VIS and NIR spectral bands center wavelengths (CW) and bandwidths (BW). It demonstrates that the SRCA on-orbit wavelength calibration capability remains satisfactory. For most spectral bands, the changes in CW and BW are less than 0.5 nm and 1.0 nm, respectively. As expected, results and lessons from Terra MODIS on-orbit spectral characterization have and will continue to benefit the operation and calibration of its successor, Aqua MODIS, and the development of future missions and sensors, which have stringent requirements on sensor spectral performance.