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Full catalog/VISSRSMS1L1AOIPS
VISSRSMS1L1AOIPS·v001·dataset

Early weather-satellite images (SMS-1, 1970s)

VISSR/SMS-1 Level 1 Atmospheric and Oceanographic Image Processing System (AOIPS) Data V001 (VISSRSMS1L1AOIPS) at GES DISC
land NASA GES_DISC Level 1
In plain English

What it measures. Early weather-satellite images of Earth from the 1970s, recording how much light and heat the surface and clouds gave off in visible and infrared wavelengths, at about 0.9 km and 8 km detail respectively.

How it's made. Produced from the VISSR instrument on the SMS-1 satellite, with each scene including timing, location and orbit information; data span 1974 to 1979 (with gaps).

How & where you'd use it. A historical archive of early geostationary weather imagery, of interest for studying past weather and the history of Earth observation.

What's measured

SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › INFRARED WAVELENGTHS › INFRARED RADIANCESPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS › VISIBLE RADIANCE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1974-07-01 → 1979-04-19
  • Measured bySMS-1 (VISSR)
  • Processing levelLevel 1
  • Spatial extent-135, -90, 45, 90
  • StatusCOMPLETE

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

VISSRSMS1L1AOIPS is the Visible Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer (VISSR) Level 1 Atmospheric and Oceanographic Image Processing System (AOIPS) data product from the first Synchronous Meteorological Satellite (SMS-1). There are typically three data files for a scene of the Earth with radiances that were measured in the visible (0.55 to 0.70 micrometer) and/or IR (10.5 to 12.6 micrometer) wavelengths with a spatial resolution of 0.9 and 8 km, respectively. Files also include time, geolocation, orbit, attitude, and telemetry information. There are three types of data files in this product: one contains IR data, one contains the IR grid information (blank before 1974/10/29), and another contains VIS data. Each data file is structured with an AOIPS label, followed by an IPD label, and then an optional 8 telemetry records followed by a set of data records. Visible data are typically 3904 pixels by either 4000 or 2000 scan lines (5 or 2.5 minute scenes respectively). IR data are typically 976 pixels by either 500 or 250 scan lines (5 or 2.5 minute scenes respectively). A full scan of the Earth was made every 20 minutes. The data were used to make 70mm film negatives and 9.5” positive prints on a Dicomed Image Recording System. Data for this product are available from 1974/07/01 through 1979/04/19 (with gaps plus no data between 1975/08/20 and 1979/02/17). The SMS-1 satellite was initially parked over the equator at longitude 45W on June 7, 1974 viewing the hemisphere below the satellite to support the GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE). It was moved to its operational position at 75W on Nov 15, 1974 where it remained until GOES-1 was launched, after which SMS 1 was moved to 105W and placed in stand-by-mode as a backup to GOES-1 or SMS-2. The VISSR experiment was operated by the NOAA National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS), as well as scientists from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. This product was previously available from the NSSDC with the identifier ESAD-00018 (old ID 74-033A-01D).

Get the data

vissrsms1l1aoips_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VISSRSMS1L1AOIPS",
    version="001",
    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 GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.