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This tutorial, the first of a linked set of four, provides an introduction to remote sensing as a tool for studying the earth, its land, water bodies, cultural components, and surrounding atmosphere. The basis for this capability is the recording of reflected, emitted, and luminesced photons, usually in the form of images, and the subsequent interpretation of image patterns for terrain information (manual analysis), and of spectral patterns for targeting, monitoring, and change detection (computer and digital analysis). Included are brief reviews of: radiation characteristics such as bandwidth, interference, absorption, reflectance, emittance, luminescence; optical attributes such as focus, and resolution; research in spectral measurements; and application examples from various remote sensing systems. This leads to Tutorial II on spectral measurements; thence to Tutorial III on the digital analysis of imaging spectrometer data; and to Tutorial IV on the characteristics of available remote sensing systems.