Hyperspectral camera as a compact payload architecture for remote sensing applications.

Area of Science:

• * Earth Observation and Remote Sensing
• * Space Technology and Nanosatellites
• * Optical Engineering

Background:

• * Global interest in Earth surface monitoring necessitates advanced remote sensing capabilities.
• * CubeSat nanosatellites offer a platform for developing low-cost, small-sized instruments.
• * Existing CubeSat optical systems are often expensive and designed for general use.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To present a novel 1.4 U compact optical system for spectral imaging from a CubeSat.
• * To validate the optical system's architecture through ray tracing simulations.
• * To assess the system's performance in a real remote sensing application (land cover classification).

Main Methods:

• * Development of a 1.4 U compact optical system for CubeSat integration.
• * Optical simulations using ray tracing software for architecture validation.
• * Evaluation of optical characterization and land cover classification performance.

Main Results:

• * The proposed optical system operates in the 450 nm to 900 nm spectral range with 35 bands.
• * Achieved an overall f-number of 3.41, a ground sampling distance of 52.8 m, and a 40 km swath.
• * Demonstrated effective performance in land cover classification, validating data quality.

Conclusions:

• * The developed optical system provides a compact and effective solution for spectral imaging on CubeSats.
• * Publicly available design parameters ensure validation, repeatability, and reproducibility.
• * This system advances remote sensing capabilities by offering a cost-effective, high-performance payload.