International Space Station Agricultural Camera (ISSAC)
Research Area: Earth Remote Sensing
Expedition(s): 27-ongoing
Principal Investigator(s): ● Bruce Smith, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks,
North Dakota
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The International Space Station Agricultural Camera (ISSAC) takes frequent images, in visible
and infrared light, principally of vegetated areas (growing crops, grasslands, forests) in the
northern Great Plains region of the United States. The sensor is also being used to study
dynamic Earth processes around the world, such as melting glaciers, ecosystem responses to
seasonal changes, and human impacts, including rapid-response monitoring of natural
disasters. ISSAC was built and is being operated by students and faculty at the University of
North Dakota, in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
EARTH BENEFITS
The combination of characteristics that
ISSAC provides offers a unique data
source that allows aspects of agricultural
efficiency that are of particular
importance to the northern Great Plains
to be investigated and improved. More
generally, these same capabilities of
ISSAC can be applied to scientific study
of any areas undergoing rapid ecosystem
change, worldwide. Potential targets
range from natural systems such as
glacier melt and plant phenological
transitions, to human impact such as
deforestation and urbanization. The
rapid responsiveness of ISSAC imagery
may also aid in disaster monitoring
applications worldwide.
SPACE BENEFITS
Using students to develop and operate ISSAC helps train the next generation of scientists and
engineers who will work on future space-based applications.
RESULTS
ISSAC was installed into the Window Observational Research Facility (WORF) on May 13, 2011.
Initial ISSAC images showed finer details when compared to Landsat 5 images. Additionally,
radiance (measure of the radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface) and surface reflectance
(fraction of the total radiation falling on a surface that is reflected by that surface) results from
ISSAC images were compared with radiance and surface reflectance measurements taken on
ISS027E023647 - NASA astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition
27 flight engineer, works with International Space Station
(ISS) Agricultural Camera hardware in the Destiny laboratory
of the ISS.