ASTER IS ONE OF THE FIVE STATE OF THE ART INSTRUMENT SENSOR SYSTEMS ON-BOARD TERRA A SATELLITE LAUNCHED IN DECEMBER 1999. IT WAS BUILT BY A CONSORTIUM OF JAPANESE GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY, AND RESEARCH GROUPS. ASTER MONITORS CLOUD COVER, GLACIERS, LAND TEMPERATURE, LAND USE, NATURAL DISASTERS, SEA ICE, SNOW COVER AND VEGETATION PATTERNS AT A SPATIAL RESOLUTION OF 90 TO 15 METERS. THE MULTISPECTRAL IMAGES OBTAINED FROM THIS SENSOR HAVE 14 DIFFERENT COLORS, WHICH ALLOW SCIENTISTS TO INTERPRET WAVELENGTHS THAT CANNOT BE SEEN BY THE HUMAN EYE, SUCH AS NEAR INFRARED, SHORT WAVE INFRARED AND THERMAL INFRARED.