Abstract
The Global Imager (GLI) and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) are the core mission instruments developed by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), currently the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), onboard the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II, or Midori-II). The GLI instrument is a 36-channels visible and near-infrared radiometer and AMSR is a dual-polarized multi-frequency microwave radiometer. Although the ADEOS-II mission life was shorter than expected, they collected about 7-month's global Earth observation data with their advanced performances and provided valuable experiences to JAXA and science community. The Global Change Observation Mission (GCOM) will succeed the ADEOS-II mission and develop into the long-term observation with two medium sized satellites and multiple generations. The accumulated experiences in hardware development, retrieval algorithms, calibration and validation, and data utilization through the GLI and AMSR activities should be reflected in the GCOM program.
