A novel CubeSat payload for atmospheric research has been developed to study the temperature distribution in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region. The payload consists of a small interferometer for the observation of airglow at 762 nm. Since the rotational structure of the O2 A-band emission follows the Boltzmann law, the ratio of different emission lines allows for temperature retrieval without the need of a precise absolute radiometric calibration of the instrument. Integrated in a 6U CubeSat, the instrument will perform simultaneous limb measurements between 60 km and 150 km globally. The agility of a CubeSat shall be used to focus the measurements on specific regions from different viewing directions. In order to achieve high spectral resolution and high optical throughput, a spatial heterodyne interferometer was chosen for detecting the rotational structure of the O2 A-band emission. The utilization of a two-dimensional imaging detector allows for recording these interferograms at various altitudes at the same time. Since this instrument type has no moving parts, it can be built as a solid block which makes it very attractive for atmospheric measurements especially from space. For highly spatially resolved images of the atmosphere in limb view mode, a high-quality front optics, which images the scene onto the refraction gratings of the interferometer, is required. In addition, a detector optics with minimal aberrations is needed to image the gratings onto the focal plane array. The optical design of the interferometer as well as the technical layout of front and detector optics are presented.
A highly miniaturized limb sounder for the observation of the O2 A-band to derive temperatures in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere is presented. The instrument consists of a monolithic spatial heterodyne spectrometer, which is able to resolve the rotational structure of that band. The SHS operates at a Littrow wavelength of 762 nm with a resolving power in the order of 10.000. Complemented by a front optics with an acceptance angle of less than ±1 degree and a detector optics, the entire optical system fits into a volume of about 1.5 liters. This allows this instrument to be flown on a three or six unit CubeSat. In this paper, we introduce the optical design and computer simulations on the expected performance of the instrument. The laboratory characterization of a prototype instrument, which has been built on university level, and the lessons learned are discussed.
This article presents the characterization and analysis of a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) CMOS detector utilized in a miniaturized satellite payload for atmospheric temperature measurements. To evaluate the performance of the selected CMOS detector, a series of tests were performed. The temperature dependent dark current, the readout noise and the system gain are determined, which are provided for the subsequent system performance evaluation and data processing. A case study is established to simulate the space radiation effect to determine the needed shielding thickness on the instrument. The effect of radiation damage on the CMOS image sensors is investigated using a Co-60 Gamma radiation source.
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