ASTER Expedited L1A Reconstructed Unprocessed Instrument Data V003

• The AST_L1AE is available for download within 48 hours of acquisition in support of field calibration and validation efforts, in addition to emergency response for natural disasters where the quick turn-around time from acquisition to availability would prove beneficial in initial damage or impact assessments.
• The registration quality of the AST_L1AE is likely to be lower than the AST_L1A, and may vary from scene to scene.
• The AST_L1AE data product does not contain the VNIR 3B (aft-viewing) Band.
• This dataset does not have short-term calibration for the Thermal Infrared (TIR) sensor.
• The AST_L1AE data product is only available for download 30 days after acquisition. It is then removed and reprocessed into an AST_L1A product.

Known Issues

* TIR bands: Acquisitions for TIR bands ended on January 16, 2026, at 05:10:45 UTC, when the ASTER TIR instrument was permanently turned off due to power limitations on the Terra spacecraft. More information is available in this NASA Science News Brief.

• Data acquisition gaps: On November 28, 2024, one of Terra's power-transmitting shunt units failed. As a result, there was insufficient power to maintain functionality of the ASTER instrument. ASTER resumed acquisitions for the VNIR bands on January 18, 2025, and for the TIR bands on April 15, 2025. Users should note the data gap in ASTER acquisitions from November 28, 2024, through January 16, 2025, for VNIR observations, and a gap from November 28, 2024, through April 15, 2025, for TIR acquisitions.
• SWIR bands: ASTER SWIR detectors are no longer functioning as of January 12, 2009, due to anomalously high SWIR detector temperatures.
• SWIR anomaly: Users are advised that ASTER SWIR data acquired from April 2008 to January 11, 2009, exhibit anomalous saturation of values and anomalous striping. This effect is also present for some prior acquisition periods. Please refer to the ASTER SWIR User Advisory for more details.