Remote Sensing from Manned Low Earth Orbit Spacecraft: Implications for the International Space Station

摘要

This paper addresses the question of what contributions the International Space Station (ISS) can make as a sensor based remote sensing platform. There is precedent for the use of manned platforms in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Skylab had the Earth Resources Experiment Package (EREP). In the Shuttle -Mir program, the Piroda module was dedicated to Earth sensing. One experiment in the Piroda, the Multispectral Stereo Scanner (MOMS-2PP) was used for quantifying the advantages of performing remote sensing on the ISS. The Space Shuttle program also made significant contributions to Earth observations. Sixteen missions carried electronic experiment packages for Earth observations and crew on almost every mission performed earth observations using cameras.rnExperiments planned for the ISS can also tell us much about the potential the ISS has as a remote sensing platform by examining their design and objectives. In March of 2009 an experiment called Agricultural Camera (AgCam) was delivered to the ISS for installation in the window of the Laboratory module. In fall of 2009 two more remote sensing experiments will arrive on the ISS - the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) and the Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS). These instruments will be combined on one experiment package, HICO- RAIDS experiment package (HREP), and will be placed outside the ISS, on an external platform.