Early results on the characterization of the Terra MODIS spatial response

A project to characterize the Moderate Resolution-Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) spatial response (SR) using preflight Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) validation data and on-orbit imagery is described, and the results from the analyses are presented. The preflight validation data are used to estimate the optical blurring parameters to complete a system MTF model for MODIS bands 1 and 2. The model and data indicate that the prelaunch MTF is higher for band 2 than for band 1. The on-orbit imagery is used in a two-image MTF estimation technique to characterize the on-orbit MTF for MODIS bands 1 and 2. Three data sets coincident with MODIS collects are used, Landsat-7 ETM+ imagery of Maricopa Agricultural Center, Arizona, on September 26, 2000 and May 24, 2001 and ASTER imagery of Mono Lake, CA, on September 29, 2000. The on-orbit MTFs obtained to date are consistent with prelaunch validation MTF measurements in the cross-track direction, but are less than prelaunch MTFs in the in-track direction. Further analysis is in progress to confirm these results.