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Full catalog/AST_L1A
AST_L1A·v004·dataset

Raw unprocessed instrument data (ASTER)

ASTER L1A Reconstructed Unprocessed Instrument Data V004
land NASA LPCLOUD Level 1A active HDF-EOS2
In plain English

What it measures. Holds the raw, uncorrected instrument readings (digital numbers) from ASTER's three telescopes covering visible, shortwave-infrared, and thermal-infrared light. Calibration coefficients are calculated and attached but not yet applied.

How it's made. Reconstructed directly from the raw telemetry sent down by the ASTER instrument on NASA's Terra satellite, at the earliest processing stage.

How & where you'd use it. This is a raw building-block product; most people use the corrected, higher-level ASTER products rather than this directly.

What's measured

SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › INFRARED WAVELENGTHS › REFLECTED INFRAREDSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › INFRARED WAVELENGTHS › THERMAL INFRAREDSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS › VISIBLE IMAGERY

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2000-03-04 → ongoing
  • Measured byTerra (ASTER)
  • Processing levelLevel 1A
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsHDF-EOS2
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Level 1A (AST_L1A) contains reconstructed, instrument digital numbers (DNs) derived from the acquired telemetry streams of the telescopes: Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR), Shortwave Infrared (SWIR), and Thermal Infrared (TIR). Additionally, geometric correction coefficients and radiometric calibration coefficients are calculated and appended to the metadata but not applied. The AST_L1A product has a spatial resolution of 15 meters (m) for the VNIR bands, 30 m for the SWIR bands, and 90 m for the TIR bands. Known Issues * TIR bands: Acquisitions for TIR bands ended on January 16, 2026, at 05:10:45 UTC, when the ASTER TIR instrument was permanently turned off due to power limitations on the Terra spacecraft. More information is available in this [NASA Science News Brief](https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/science-news/2026/02/12/terra-adjusts-instrument-operations-to-extend-mission-life/). * Data acquisition gaps: On November 28, 2024, one of Terra's power-transmitting shunt units failed. As a result, there was insufficient power to maintain functionality of the ASTER instrument. ASTER resumed acquisitions for the VNIR bands on January 18, 2025, and for the TIR bands on April 15, 2025. Users should note the data gap in ASTER acquisitions from November 28, 2024, through January 16, 2025, for VNIR observations, and a gap from November 28, 2024, through April 15, 2025, for TIR acquisitions. * SWIR bands: ASTER SWIR detectors are no longer functioning as of January 12, 2009, due to anomalously high SWIR detector temperatures. * SWIR anomaly: Users are advised that ASTER SWIR data acquired from April 2008 to January 11, 2009, exhibit anomalous saturation of values and anomalous striping. This effect is also present for some prior acquisition periods. Please refer to the [ASTER SWIR User Advisory](https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/documents/1661/ASTER_SWIR_User_Advisory_Jan_12_2009.pdf) for more details.

Get the data

ast_l1a_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="AST_L1A",
    version="004",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LPCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.