POLDER (POLarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances) is a passive optical imaging radiometer[2] and polarimeter[3] instrument developed by the French space agency CNES.
[3] The device scans between 443 and 910 nm FWHM, depending on the objective of the measurement.
POLDER was first launched as a passenger instrument aboard ADEOS I[4] on 17 August 1996.
The second mission ended prematurely after 10 months when the satellite's solar panel malfunctioned.
[8] A third generation instrument was launched on board the French PARASOL microsatellite.