The Joint NASA/JPL-ASI Surface Biology and Geology-Thermal Infrared (SBG-TIR) Project

In response to the recommendations from the 2017 U.S. National Academies decadal survey for Earth science, NASA initiated the Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) designated observable. SBG includes spaceborne measurements in the visible to shortwave infrared (VSWIR) and in the thermal infrared (TIR). TIR data products include Earth surface temperature & emissivity, evapotranspiration, substrate composition, volcanic plumes, and high-temperature features. A team of scientists and engineers from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA/JPL), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Istituto Nazionale Geofisica e Volcanologia (INGV), and the Istituto Nazionale Astrofisica (INAF) are now collaborating on an SBG-TIR joint project. In this concept, the JPL TIR instrument and an ASI visible and near infrared (VNIR) camera are mounted on an ASI-provided spacecraft platform and launched into space on an ASI-provided launch vehicle. A multi-year international development effort will lead to a launch in the second half of this decade.