Airborne Validation Unified Experiment: Land to Ocean

The Campaign

The Airborne Validation Unified Experiment: Land to Ocean (AVUELO) was a NASA field investigation that captured airborne hyperspectral images of tropical ecosystems to improve the calibration and validation of spaceborne imaging spectroscopy. AVUELO involved a single deployment in February 2025 across Panama and Costa Rica. The Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer 3 (AVIRIS-3) collected hyperspectral imagery of mangroves, forests, reforested areas, agricultural sites, and coastal waters to analyze vegetation and support satellite validation. Samples from more than 900 plant species imaged by AVIRIS-3 were collected to study leaf properties. Phytoplankton net samples and Niskin bottle samples were also collected in coastal regions for ground-truth validation. AVUELO was a collaborative effort between NASA and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI).

Additional Notes

Repositories

• other NASA repository not formally considered a DAAC by ESDS