From: https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/dataset_discovery/aster

ASTER Overview
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of the five 
state-of-the-art instrument sensor systems on-board Terra with a unique combination of wide 
spectral coverage and high spatial resolution in the visible near-infrared through shortwave 
infrared to the thermal infrared regions. ASTER is a partnership between NASA, Japan's Ministry 
of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the National Institude of Advanced Industrial Science and 
Technology (AIST) in Japan, and Japan Space Systems

ASTER data contributes to a wide array of global change-related application areas including 
vegetation and ecosystem dynamics, hazard monitoring, geology and soils, hydrology, and land 
cover change