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) was used to collect 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 gathered 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