Europe's first geostationary sounder satellite is launched

> "MTG-S1’s Infrared Sounder will scan nearly 2,000 thermal infrared wavelengths every 30 minutes to build vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, and trace gases. These data will be crucial for detecting fast-developing convective weather by revealing sudden shifts in instability, moisture, or wind – even before clouds begin to form."

In other words, it is

> "The Infrared Sounder on MTG-S1 is the first hyperspectral sounding instrument in geostationary orbit."

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Meteoro...

Is there a more technical article describing this hyperspectral instrument somewhere? It sounds pretty novel.

edit: Also, I'm now confused about the ESA's claim to be "the first", because

> "In 2016, the Chinese Meteorological Agency (CMA) launched the Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder (GIIRS), to be the first hyperspectral sounder in geostationary orbit"

https://www.aos.wisc.edu/aosjournal/Volume38/Loveless_PhD.pd... (PhD thesis of David M. Loveless (2021))

> edit: Also, I'm now confused about the ESA's claim to be the "first", because

I think you might have misread the title, "Europe’s first [...]"

> Is there a more technical article describing this hyperspectral instrument somewhere?

https://space.oscar.wmo.int/instruments/view/irs has an short overview

Then this document provides an introduction (+ details) about the MTG-IRS program in general: https://user.eumetsat.int/s3/eup-strapi-media/MTG_IRS_L2_ATB...

> "I think you might have misread the title,"

No; I'm quoting the esa.int article verbatim. The eumetsat.int article qualifies "...over Europe", but the esa.int does not. I suspect esa.int is just mistaken.

Here is a link that lists the sensors/data products roughly: https://webapps.itc.utwente.nl/sensor/getsat.aspx?Find=sat&N...

The IRS seems 4km and sentinel 4 8km if I read it correctly. The cool thing is that it is stationary unlike other sentinel satellites and can actually be used for now casting. No clue how infrared sounding performs with cloud cover.

Imagine a world where America actually wanted to understand climate change.

Considering the emissions of the US and the outright rejection of climate action through the Paris accords, and the covering up of climate related research, it would seem fair to consider climate change as partly caused by outright American hostility. They say the most impacted will be people in developing nations, also, not in the US. Absolutely horrific actions.

Clearly, if it’s not European, it doesn’t count.