美国地球系统观测台(ESO)计划介绍

An Introduction to NASA′s Earth System Observatory Project

作为美国宇航局(NASA)推动下一代地球科学的手段,地球系统观测台(ESO)将收集一系列地球不同层面的数据,用于深入研究地球系统各组成部分及其相互关系,从而获得对地球系统整体、三维的理解。文章对NASA逐步开展的地球系统观测台计划进行概括,分析了NASA规划ESO项目的科学目标、实施策略和工作重点,详细介绍了ESO首期任务中NASA与印度空间研究组织(ISRO)合作开发的NASA-ISRO合成孔径雷达系统(NISAR)的组成、部署、测量方式、数据产品和测量误差来源,并在此基础上介绍了NISAR航天器和子系统以及NISAR主要的应用领域,提出了对ESO计划的思考及从中得到的启示,以期对中国未来地球观测计划提供有价值的借鉴和参考。

As part of NASA’s effort to advance the next generation of Earth science, the Earth System Observatory(ESO) will collect a wide range of data from different layers of the Earth that will be used to gain a holistic, three-dimensional understanding of the earth system’s components and their interrelationships. This paper summarized the Earth System Observatory program gradually developed by NASA, and analyzed the scientific objectives, implementation strategies and work priorities of NASA’s ESO program. The composition,deployment, measurement methods, data products and measurement error sources of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar System(NISAR) developed by NASA in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) during the first ESO mission were described in detail. On this basis, the NISAR spacecraft and subsystems as well as the main application fields of NISAR were introduced, and the reflections on ESO program and its enlightenment are put forward, in order to provide valuable reference for China’s future earth observation program.