15 Years of Aqua MODIS OnOrbit Operation, Calibration, and Performance

Since launch on May 04, 2002, Aqua MODIS has
successfully operated for 15 years and continuously
produced from its observations many data products in
support of a broad range of scientific research
activities and applications. Its overall mission success
has relied heavily on the dedicated efforts to operate
and calibrate the instrument and to track and correct
on-orbit changes in sensor responses. This paper
provides an overview of Aqua MODIS instrument
operation and calibration activities, algorithm
improvements, and look-up-table (LUT) updates.
Results derived from various on-orbit calibration
targets are presented to demonstrate sensor long-term
performance. Also discussed in this paper are
challenging issues identified and future efforts to
maintain instrument calibration and data quality.