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Full catalog/SPL1A_RO_QA_003
SPL1A_RO_QA_003·v3·dataset

Raw radar receiver health checks (SMAP)

SMAP_L1A_RADAR_RECEIVE_ONLY_QA_V003
land NASA ASF Level 1 active
In plain English

What it measures. Quality and health-check information for SMAP's radar receiver, rather than maps of the land itself.

How it's made. Generated at the earliest processing stage (Level 1A) from the radar instrument aboard NASA's SMAP satellite.

How & where you'd use it. A behind-the-scenes engineering and quality product; most people would never use it directly, but it helps ensure SMAP's higher-level soil-moisture data are reliable.

What's measured

SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › PLATFORM CHARACTERISTICS › ORBITAL CHARACTERISTICSSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › RADAR › RADAR IMAGERYSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › RADAR › SIGMA NAUGHT

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2015-02-12 → ongoing
  • Measured bySMAP (SAR)
  • Processing levelLevel 1
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • 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

SMAP Level 1A Radar Receive Only Data Quality Information Version 3

Get the data

spl1a_ro_qa_003_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="SPL1A_RO_QA_003",
    version="3",
    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 ASF
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.