ABSTRACT
High spatial resolution (defined here as sub-100 m) and multi-channel (three or more bands) thermal data have enabled new advances in Earth science and applications. The first such data available from space was acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) launched in 1999, which has 5 thermal channels and spatial sampling of 90 m. In 2018, the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) was launched, providing 5 thermal channels with a spatial sampling of 70 m. In response to the success of ASTER and ECOSTRESS, several future missions have been proposed. In this chapter, we will discuss the current and future high-resolution, multi-channel thermal imagers.
