The Earth in Living Color: NASA's Surface Biology and Geology Designated Observable

The 2017 NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey recommended studies of Earth-system observables, including oceanic, terrestrial, cryospheric and atmospheric processes. This Town Hall will engage with the Phase A science and engineering team supporting the Surface Biology and Geology Designated Observable (SBG), which will provide measurements of aquatic, vegetation, mineral, snow, and volcanic properties using VSWIR imaging spectroscopy and TIR emissivity and surface temperature retrievals. An overview of the science driving requirements for spectral range, signal to noise, spatial resolution and revisit will be presented, as well as updates on field campaigns (SHIFT) and pathfinder missions, EMIT and ECOSTRESS. In addition, an overview will be presented on the international partnerships with the European Space Agency's Mission CHIME and LSTM missions, and the CNES/ISRO TRISHNA missions. SBG is a core mission contributing to the NASA Earth System Observatory, along with the Atmosphere Observing System (AOS), Mass Change (MC), and Surface Deformation and Change (SDC). We welcome participants across careers stages, scientific disciplines, and application areas to participate and learn about this exciting study with launch readiness date of 2027 and 2028.