Remote Sensing Tools for Exploration

This book is intended to cover remote sensing as a process applied to solar system exploration, with emphasis on understanding and utilizing the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The goal is to create a common ground for those individuals and groups involved in every aspect of remote sensing, representing a wide range of science, engineering, and management disciplines. Despite their varying viewpoints and jargons, these scientist, engineers, and mission administrators nevertheless share the common goal of bringing remote sensing instruments, missions, and programs to fruition. The fostering of great understanding and appreciation of essential aspects of remote sensing brought to the table from each discipline will generate improved communication and working relationships to facilitate succesful future exploration. Introductory chapters describe preliminary planning and support systems as well as general principles of remote sensing and electromagnetic energy interactions. The body of the book covers energy generation, instrumentation, measurements, and their interpretation for major divisions of the electromagnetic spectrum, including the visible and circumvisible, ray, and long wave regions. Processing and fusion of remote sensing data in its many forms, as well as emerging technologies for data processing and delivery, are discussed in the final chapters.