NASA's AIRS Instrument Captures Hurricane Helene
AIRS infrared and visible images and animation show the evolution of Hurricane Helene from formation until after landfall in Florida
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Data Product Release for AIRS Level 2 Joint Single Footprint Retrieval Algorithm (JoSFRA)
The NASA AIRS Project and GES DISC are pleased to announce the release of the JoSFRA Level-2 data product: Geophysical variables from AIRS spectra at their native horizontal resolution of 13.5 km at nadir.
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20 Years of AIRS: A Story in Visualizations
The visualizations and images presented here show several quantities AIRS has observed over its 20 year lifetime. Most of these quantities have a common trait: the effects over the past two decades of human activities are easily seen in the AIRS observations.
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Top Story
What AIRS Has Observed Over 20 Years in Space
May marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of JPL’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite. A selection of features, videos and animations highlight what AIRS has observed over the 20 years and the impact it has had.
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Weather and Climate from Space
AIRS data are critical in the monitoring of Earth’s atmosphere, improving weather forecasts and enhancing our understanding of Earth’s climate
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Mission & Instrument
The AIRS instrument has provided the most significant increase in forecast improvement in this time range of any other single instrument
Launched into orbit on May 4, 2002 aboard NASA's Aqua satellite, the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, or AIRS, is enhancing our understanding of Earth's weather and climate. AIRS is one of six instruments aboard NASA's Aqua satellite, which in turn is part of a constellation of satellites that make up NASA's Earth Observing System. AIRS along with its partner microwave instrument the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A), represents the most advanced atmospheric sounding system ever deployed in space. Together these instruments observe the global water and energy cycles, climate variation and trends, and the response of the climate system to increased greenhouse gases.
AIRS uses cutting edge infrared technology to create three-dimensional maps of air and surface temperature, water vapor, and cloud properties. With 2378 spectral channels, AIRS has a spectral resolution more than 100 times greater than previous infrared sounders and provides more accurate information on the vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and moisture. AIRS can also measure trace greenhouse gases such as ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane.
