Image reconstruction algorithms for 2D aperture synthesis radiometers

Abstract

The SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission is an Earth Explorer Opportunity Mission from the European Space Agency that will be launched in Spring 2009. SMOSpsila single payload is a new type of radiometer called MIRAS (Microwave Imaging Radiometer by Aperture Synthesis) operating at L-band in which brightness temperature images are formed by a Fourier synthesis technique. An updated overview of the current status of the image reconstruction algorithms in 2D Aperture Synthesis Radiometers for Earth Observation, with special emphasis in the SMOS mission is presented.