15 Years of Aqua MODIS On-Orbit 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.