Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)
The DMSP are a series of sun-synchronous satellites in near polar orbit to investigate the Earth environment. For over fifteen years, INTERFEROMETRICS has provided technical and analytical support for DMSP projects. INTERFEROMETRICS scientists contributed to the calibration and validation of the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) and the successor Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) aboard DMSP spacecraft. These are passive microwave sounder instruments that measure various properties of the Earth surface and atmosphere.
The Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) consisted of a conically scanning imager that measured Earth surface parameters such as ocean surface wind speed, sea-ice concentration, land surface temperature, and soil moisture, and atmospheric parameters, such as rainfall rate, cloud liquid water, and integrated water vapor. The next generation SSMIS instrument platform supplemented the instrument capabilities of SSM/I with measurements of temperature and water vapor profiles (demonstrated on earlier platforms), and an extension of temperature sounding measurements into the mesosphere.