THE FUTURE SPACEBORNE HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGER ENMAP: ITS 
CALIBRATION, VALIDATION, AND PROCESSING CHAIN 
T. Storch^ *, A. de Miguel a , R. Müller \ A. Müller 1 * 3 , A. Neumann b , T. Walzel b , M. Bachmann a , 
G. Palubinskas a , M. Lehner a , R. Richter \ E. Borg c , B. Fichtelmann c , T. Heege d , M. Schroeder a , and P. Reinartz 3 
“Applied Remote Sensing Cluster, German Aerospace Center - DLR, Münchener Str. 20, 82234 Weßling, Germany 
b Applied Remote Sensing Cluster, German Aerospace Center - DLR, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany 
c Applied Remote Sensing Cluster, German Aerospace Center - DLR, Kalkhorstweg 53, 17235 Neustrelitz, Germany 
d EOMAP GmbH & Co. KG, Sonderflughafen Oberpfaffenhofen, Gebäude 319, 82205 Gilching, Germany 
Commission I, SS-4 
KEY WORDS: Remote Sensing, Space Photogrammetry, Hyperspectral, Calibration, Processing, Software System 
ABSTRACT: 
The Applied Remote Sensing Cluster of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is responsible for the establishment of the payload 
ground segment for the future German hyperspectral satellite mission EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program), 
which is planned to be launched in 2012. EnMAP covers the spectrum from 420 nm to 2450 nm with a spectral resolution of at least 
10 nm and a spatial resolution of 30 m x 30 m with a swath width of 30 km. The primary goal of EnMAP is to quantify and analyze 
diagnostic parameters describing key processes on the Earth’s surface. To achieve high-quality and consistent data with respect to 
the same and other missions, extensive calibration and validation activities are foreseen during the five years of mission operations. 
The calibration results will be integrated in the processing chain to obtain standardized products, which include radiometric, 
geometric, and atmospheric correction. Here we focus on the following three aspects of the EnMAP mission: (a) analysis of data of 
the various calibration sources, (b) geometric processing with precise orbit and attitude data as well as atmospheric correction, and 
(c) supporting ground, airborne, and spacebome campaigns to assess the quality of the output data delivered by the processing chain. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
The Applied Remote Sensing Cluster of the German Aerospace 
Center (DLR) has long lasting experiences with the airborne 
and spacebome acquisition, processing, and analysis of 
hyperspectral images. Jointly with the German Space 
Operations Center it is responsible for the establishment of the 
ground segment for the future German hyperspectral satellite 
mission EnMAP (Environmental Mapping and Analysis 
Program) (Kaufmann, H. et al., 2006; Müller, A. et al., 2006; 
Stuffier, T. et al., 2007). 
1.1 EnMAP Mission 
The major objectives of the EnMAP mission are to measure, 
derive, and analyze diagnostic parameters, which describe vital 
processes on the Earth’s land and water sites. Those 
geochemical, biochemical, and biophysical parameters are 
assimilated in physically based ecosystem models, and 
ultimately provide information reflecting the status and 
evolution of various terrestrial ecosystems. Based on these 
quantitative measurements remote sensing standard products 
can be substantially improved and new user-driven information 
products will be generated, which could so far only be produced 
in the frame of scientific airborne hyperspectral campaigns (e.g., 
Van der Meer, F. D. and De Jong, S. M., 2006). During the five 
years of mission operations, which are planned to start in 2012, 
EnMAP will provide information about the status of different 
ecosystems and their response to natural or man-made changes 
of the environment, which will be evaluated by an international 
user community of science and industry coordinated by the 
GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam as the mission principal 
investigator. To meet these objectives a team of value adders 
and scientific partners jointly investigated the mission 
characteristics. 
The EnMAP satellite will be operated on a sun-synchronous 
orbit at 643 km altitude to observe any location on the globe 
under defined illumination conditions featuring a global revisit 
capability of 21 days under a quasi-nadir observation. EnMAP 
has an across-track tilt capability of ± 30° enabling a revisit 
time of four days. The hyperspectral instrument (HSI) will be 
realized by Kayser-Threde GmbH as a pushbroom imaging 
spectrometer. Its data acquisition over the broad spectral range 
from 420 nm to 2450 nm will be performed by a 2-dimensional 
CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) detector 
array for VNIR (visible and near infrared) with approximately 
117 spectral channels, i.e. 5 nm spectral resolution, and by a 2- 
dimensional MCT (Mercury Cadmium Telluride) detector array 
for SWIR (shortwave infrared) with approximately 143 spectral 
channels, i.e. 10 nm spectral resolution, each with an analogue- 
to-digital converter resolution of 14 bits. The across direction of 
the arrays is used for the spatial resolution and the along 
direction for the spectral resolution. The ground pixel size will 
remain constant over the whole mission lifetime at certain 
latitude, e.g. 30 m x 30 m at nadir at 48° northern latitude. In 
this context a pointing accuracy of better than 500 m is 
expected, which will be improved to a pointing knowledge of 
Corresponding author. Email: tobias.storch@dlr.de, Fon: +49-8153-28-1728, Fax: +49-8153-28-1444