2009 年 29 巻 1 号 p. 133-136
The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) manufactured by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is a successor of MSR aboard the Marine Observation Satellite-1 (MOS-1) launched in 1987. Two sensors of AMSR were manufactured : AMSR aboard the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) of JAXA launched in December 2002, and AMSR-E aboard the AQUA of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched in May 2002. Global observations by AMSR and AMSR-E with a high spatial resolution and with six frequencies from 6 to 89GHz exceed those by previous sensors. In particular, a continuous observation by AMSR-E since the launch date provides a valuable data for monitoring of the climate change of the Earth.