Alaska Satellite Facility - Distributed Active Archive Center

AIRSAR

Topographic radar data over the Ray Mine in central Arizona. Colors show elevation information from the mine pits in the center of the image up through the surrounding mountains. These data are being used for mine site and watershed characterization associated with environmental assessment of the area. Image NASA /JPL

Airborne SAR (AIRSAR) was a prototype JPL earth-observation project equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) — an all-weather imaging tool able to penetrate clouds and collect data at night. Two of the AIRSAR imaging modes used could penetrate into the forest canopy, dry snow cover, and, in extremely dry areas, sand.

AIRSAR was a NASA radar technology testbed to demonstrate new radar technology and acquire data for developing radar processing techniques and applications.

The data are open and freely available to download.

Image: Topographic radar data over the Ray Mine in central Arizona. Colors show elevation information from the mine pits in the center of the image up through the surrounding mountains. These data are being used for mine site and watershed characterization associated with environmental assessment of the area. Image by NASA /JPL

Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Dataset PropertyP-BandL-BandC-Band
Temporal Coverage1988-20041988-20041988-2004
Spatial CoverageWorldwide mission-specific sitesWorldwide mission-specific sitesWorldwide mission-specific sites
Frequency/Wavelength0.45 GHz/67 cm1.26 GHz/23 cm5.31 GHz/5.7 cm
PolarizationFullFullFull
Range Resolution7.5 m3.75 m1.875 m
Swath Width10 km10 km10 km
Off-Nadir Angle20-60°20-60°20-60°
File FormatAIRSAR (proprietary), JPGAIRSAR (proprietary), JPGAIRSAR (proprietary), JPG
Download InformationData DiscoveryData DiscoveryData Discovery
Date Published1988-20041988-20041988-2004

Read more on the JPL AIRSAR website.

Expand the sections below to view content.  Access the full content on a single page by clicking the button.

AIRSAR Technical Specs

 

Dataset PropertyP-BandL-BandC-Band
Temporal Coverage1988-20041988-20041988-2004
Spatial CoverageWorldwide mission-specific sitesWorldwide mission-specific sitesWorldwide mission-specific sites
Frequency/Wavelength0.45 GHz/67 cm1.26 GHz/23 cm5.31 GHz/5.7 cm
PolarizationFullFullFull
Range Resolution7.5 m3.75 m1.875 m
Swath Width10 km10 km10 km
Off-Nadir Angle20-60°20-60°20-60°
File FormatAIRSAR (proprietary), JPGAIRSAR (proprietary), JPGAIRSAR (proprietary), JPG
Download InformationData DiscoveryData DiscoveryData Discovery
Date Published1988-20041988-20041988-2004
Coverage Maps

AIRSAR 3FP Coverage Map

AIRSAR 3FP Coverage Map

AIRSAR DEM Coverage Map

AIRSAR DEM Coverage Map

AIRSAR Aircraft and sensor

 

DC-8 Airborne Laboratory in flight - Image Credit: NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Photo Collection (http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/index.html) NASA Photo: EC00-0050-1 Date February 2000
DC-8 Airborne Laboratory in flight – Image Credit: NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Photo Collection (http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/index.html) NASA Photo: EC00-0050-1 Date February 2000

 

 

The AIRSAR instrument (panels behind wing) are mounted aboard a modified NASA DC-8 aircraft.  During data collection, the plane flies at 8 kilometers over the average terrain height at a velocity of 215 meters per second.

The AIRSAR radar antennas are mounted on the back part of the DC-8 aircraft.  These antennas are used to collect data in all three modes.  L-band ATI uses an additional antenna (not shown) located in front of the wings.

See the Product Information tab for details.

AIRSAR Datasets and DOIs
DatasetDOI
AirSAR_TOPSAR10.5067/F1SC87EFGT9U

AIRSAR Products

Dataset Description:

 

  • Airborne SAR — synthetic aperture radar
  • 1990-2004
  • Primarily covers the United States; other tropical locations included
  • Datasets identified by place name

Downloadable Data:

 

  • PolSAR: 3-frequency polarimetry
  • TOPSAR: C-, L-, and P-band Compressed Stokes Matrix, C-band TIFF, DEM
  • ATI — Along-track interferometry: Interferograms

More detailed product descriptions are available from the AIRSAR website

Find AIRSAR data. No proposals required.

 

AIRSAR TOPSAR data formats and files

 

FormatProduct NameProduct FilesOpen-source ToolsCan Be Used For
AIRSARC-band DEM and Compressed Stokes Matrixc.corgr, c.demi2, c.vvi2MapReady, PolSARproPolarimetry
AIRSARL-band Compressed Stokes Matrixl.datgrMapReady, PolSARproPolarimetry
AIRSARP-band Compressed Stokes Matrixp.datgrPolSARproPolarimetry

 

AIRSAR PolSAR – AIRSAR ATI (Experimental) data formats and files

 

FormatProduct NameProduct FilesProcessing LevelOpen-source ToolsCan Be Used For
AIRSAR3-Frequency Polarimetryc.dat, l.dat, p.datCompressed stokes matrixMapReady, PolSARproPolarimetry
JPGAlong-Track Interferometry*intf*, *uwScc*, *az*, *uwWrp*, *uwWcc*, *uwWrp, *par, *pppSLC, MLCN/AOcean current velocity measurement

Citation Information

How to Cite AIRSAR Data and Imagery

 

Dataset ProductHow to CiteFormatExample
AIRSAR DataCite data in publications such as journal papers, articles, presentations, posters, and websites. Please send copies of, or links to, published works citing data, imagery, or tools accessed through ASF to [email protected] with “New Publication” on subject line.Dataset: AIRSAR, NASA [year of data acquisition]. Retrieved from ASF DAAC [day month year of data access].Dataset: AIRSAR, NASA 2003. Retrieved from ASF DAAC 7 June 2015.
AIRSAR DataInclude credit with each image shown in publications such as journal papers, articles, presentations, posters, and websites.NASA [year of data acquisition]NASA 2003

Data Citations and Acknowledgements

Discover AIRSAR data

Researchers can download AIRSAR data from the NASA-sponsored ASF DAAC.

 

Data Discovery ToolLink
ASF Vertex Data SearchVertex
Python Search Moduleasf_search
ASF Search APIASF Search API
NASA Earthdata SearchEarthdata Search