An overview of MODIS on-orbit calibration and instrument performance

The MODIS ProtoFlight Model on-board the EOS Terra spacecraft was launched on December 18, 1999 and the Flight Model 1 on-board the EOS Aqua spacecraft was launched on May 04, 2002. Together they have produced over 5 years of calibrated data sets from which many land, oceans, and atmosphere products have been developed and provided to the science community and public users for better understanding of both long- and short-term changes in the global environment. Overall, both Terra and Aqua MODIS have been performing well with constant on-orbit calibration and characterization efforts. The Level 1B algorithms and the corresponding production code used to generate the calibrated data sets are mature and stable.