When selecting a payload sensor that can see infrared electromagnetic radiation, the operator is concerned with what type of resolution?

Selecting a payload sensor that can detect infrared electromagnetic radiation primarily involves considering spectral resolution. Spectral resolution refers to the ability of a sensor to distinguish between different wavelengths of light within the infrared spectrum. In the context of infrared sensors, this means that the sensor can differentiate between various infrared wavelengths, which is crucial for applications such as thermal imaging or surveillance, where different materials exhibit distinct thermal signatures at different wavelengths.

This capability allows operators to identify and analyze heat sources, track thermal variations, and gather data that can lead to insights about the environment, targets, or objects of interest based on their thermal emissions. In contrast, spatial resolution relates to the detail of the spatial features captured by the sensor, temporal resolution concerns the time intervals at which data is collected, and geometric resolution pertains to the accuracy of the spatial representation in terms of location. While these aspects are important in various contexts, they do not address the specific requirement of differentiating infrared wavelengths, which is why spectral resolution is the key consideration in this scenario.