Atmospheric Infrared Sounder

AIRS moves climate research and weather prediction into the 21st century. AIRS is one of six instruments on board the Aqua satellite, part of the NASA Earth Observing System. AIRS along with its partner microwave instrument the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit AMSU-A, represents the most advanced atmospheric sounding system ever deployed in space. Together these instruments observe the global water and energy cycles, climate variation and trends, and the response of the climate system to increased greenhouse gases.

AIRS将气候研究与天气预报推进至21世纪。作为NASA地球观测系统之一，Aqua卫星搭载了AIRS等六种仪器。其中，AIRS及其配套的先进微波探测单元（Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit，简称AMSU-A）微波仪器，共同构成了迄今为止在太空中部署的最先进的气溶胶探测系统。这些仪器共同观测全球水循环与能量循环、气候变迁及其趋势，以及气候系统对温室气体增加的响应。