Environmental Science and Engineering Seminar

Remote imaging spectroscopy of Earth's surface is experiencing a renaissance, with orbital instruments now providing global coverage. Simultaneously, data quality has advanced in recent years with improved instrumentation and atmospheric correction methods. We describe these advances in the context of NASA's EMIT mission launched to the International Space Station in July 2022. We present EMIT's on-orbit performance, data analysis, and initial science results. We close with a discussion of future missions now in development, such as NASA's Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) investigation. SBG will provide global coverage at a regular cadence, approaching the sample density of today's Landsat or Sentinel programs but capturing the full spectrum of solar-reflected radiation. These new missions are revolutionizing the way we view the Earth's surface from space.