larger Pietersburg Image
larger Blyde River Canyon Image
This pair of false-color images shows the first data returned from the
MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) during the SAFARI 2000 field
campaign. The MAS is used to help calibrate the data received from
the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard
NASAs Terra spacecraft. It is carried aboard the ER-2, a high-altitude
research aircraft, where it images the Earths surface in 50 spectral bands. SAFARI marks
the first time that the MAS and MODIS have aquired data simultaneously.
On the left is Pietersburg South Africa, the current home of
the SAFARI field campaign. At upper left is the airport the ER-2
took off from. The red circles in the bottom half of the image
are fields watered by central pivot irrigation.
The right image is in the area of the Blyde River Canyon. The river cuts
across the escarpment that separates South Africas highlands
(Highveld) and lowlands (Lowveld).
Images courtesy SAFARI 2000