AERL — A small satellite for measurement of aerosol properties over land surfaces

The Aerosol Land Mission (AERL) has been investigated within a study on concepts for advanced techniques that are compatible with implementation on a small satellite in the 150–200 kg range of total mass. AERL addresses the need for improved observations of atmospheric aerosol over land surfaces for air pollution control and climate research. The mission employs two instruments for multidirectional and multispectral measurements of reflected solar radiance. For measuring the columnar aerosol optical depth and properties a triple-view spectral imager with narrow band-pass filters in the 420 nm–910 nm spectral range is applied. Information on vertical layering of aerosol is obtained by dual view measurements of a grating spectrometer in the 757 nm–775 nm spectral range (oxygen A band).