Several remote observations have indicated that water ice may be presented in permanently shadowed craters of the Moon. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission was designed to provide direct evidence. On 9 October 2009, a spent Centaur rocket struck the persistently shadowed region within the lunar south pole crater Cabeus, ejecting debris, dust, and vapor. This material was observed by a second "shepherding" spacecraft, which carried nine instruments, including cameras, spectrometers, and a radiometer. Near-infrared absorbance attributed to water vapor and ice and ultraviolet emissions attributable to hydroxyl radicals support the presence of water in the debris. The maximum total water vapor and water ice within the instrument field of view was 155 ± 12 kilograms. Given the estimated total excavated mass of regolith that reached sunlight, and hence was observable, the concentration of water ice in the regolith at the LCROSS impact site is estimated to be 5.6 ± 2.9% by mass. In addition to water, spectral bands of a number of other volatile compounds were observed, including light hydrocarbons, sulfur-bearing species, and carbon dioxide.

International audienceThe ChemCam instrument suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity provides remote compositional information using the first laser-induced breakdown spectrometer (LIBS) on a planetary mission, and provides sample texture and morphology data using a remote micro-imager (RMI). Overall, ChemCam supports MSL with five capabilities: remote classification of rock and soil characteristics; quantitative elemental compositions including light elements like hydrogen and some elements to which LIBS is uniquely sensitive (e.g., Li, Be, Rb, Sr, Ba); remote removal of surface dust and depth profiling through surface coatings; context imaging; and passive spectroscopy over the 240-905 nm range. ChemCam is built in two sections: The mast unit, consisting of a laser, telescope, RMI, and associated electronics, resides on the rover's mast, and is described in a companion paper. ChemCam's body unit, which is mounted in the body of the rover, comprises an optical demultiplexer, three spectrometers, detectors, their coolers, and associated electronics and data handling logic. Additional instrument components include a 6 m optical fiber which transfers the LIBS light from the telescope to the body unit, and a set of onboard calibration targets. ChemCam was integrated and tested at Los Alamos National Laboratory where it also underwent LIBS calibration with 69 geological standards prior to integration with the rover. Post-integration testing used coordinated mast and instrument commands, including LIBS line scans on rock targets during system-level thermal-vacuum tests. In this paper we describe the body unit, optical fiber, and calibration targets, and the assembly, testing, and verification of the instrument prior to launch

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The overarching goal of this study was to establish optimal hyperspectral vegetation indices (HVIs) and hyperspectral narrowbands (HNBs) that best characterize, classify, model, and map the world's main agricultural crops. The primary objectives were: (1) crop biophysical modeling through HNBs and HVIs, (2) accuracy assessment of crop type discrimination using Wilks' Lambda through a discriminant model, and (3) meta-analysis to select optimal HNBs and HVIs for applications related to agriculture. The study was conducted using two Earth Observing One (EO-1) Hyperion scenes and other surface hyperspectral data for the eight leading worldwide crops (wheat, corn, rice, barley, soybeans, pulses, cotton, and alfalfa) that occupy 70% of all cropland areas globally. This study integrated data collected from multiple study areas in various agroecosystems of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and India. Data were collected for the eight crop types in six distinct growth stages. These included (a) ¿eld spectroradiometer measurements (350-2500 nm) sampled at 1-nm discrete bandwidths, and (b) ¿eld biophysical variables (e.g., biomass, leaf area index) acquired to correspond with spectroradiometer measurements. The eight crops were described and classi¿ed using 20 HNBs. The accuracy of classifying these 8 crops using HNBs was around 95%, which was 25% better than the multi-spectral results possible from Landsat-7's Enhanced Thematic Mapper+ or EO-1's Advanced Land Imager. Further, based on this research and meta-analysis involving over 100 papers, the study established 33 optimal HNBs and an equal number of speci¿c two-band normalized difference HVIs to best model and study speci¿c biophysical and biochemical quantities of major agricultural crops of the world. Redundant bands identi¿ed in this study will help overcome the Hughes Phenomenon (or "the curse of high dimensionality")

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We report herein the publication and evaluation of the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) Initiative II global interdisciplinary data record. The record consists of 52 data sets, with a common series in the 10‐year period 1985 to 1996. Selected data series extend well beyond this period. All series are coregistered to a common grid and gap‐filled for continuity using uniform procedures. We describe briefly the individual data sets within the collection; provide user guidance; and contrast, compare and evaluate those data sets containing similar parameters (land cover, NDVI, albedo, precipitation and near‐surface meteorology). We also describe the process used to develop the Initiative II collection which involved a broad international scientific community focused on addressing a well‐defined set of carbon, water and energy cycle questions within the context of a specific set of analysis tools. The communities that drove the definition of the Initiative II collection were investigators within the international scientific communities of the Global Energy and Water cycle Experiment, GEWEX, program (http://www.gewex.org/); the International Geosphere/Biosphere Program IGBP (http://www.igbp.kva.se); and the U.S. Global Change Research Program, USGCRP (http://www.usgcrp.gov/). Finally, we report usage statistics based on access and download of files from the ISLSCP Initiative II collection available at http://www.daac.ornl.gov.

were measured at one meter intervals. Area-averaged canopy LUE estimated from 13 coverage fractions of the three functional types varied widely, even over short distances. 14 Patch-level statistical discriminant functions applied to in situ hyperspectral reflectance 15 successfully unmixed cover fractions of the vegetation functional types. These functions, 16 developed from the tram data, were applied to 30 m spatial resolution Earth Observing-1 17

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