INETEC is working on a project "Proof of Concept for Compact Multispectral Imaging Camera for Space Application" for the European Space Agency - ESA. The objective of the project is to prepare specification for the development and design of a small lightweight modular multispectral camera. The main activity will be researching available solutions in multispectral imaging, defining the concept of the camera and trade-off analysis to generate proof of concept design guidelines.
Before achieving the “state of the art” status, research activities will take place and they will go in two directions. On one hand, the focus of the research will be on hardware development and requirements, which includes electronics, optical aspects, power and thermal goals, as well as radiation tolerance. On the other hand, the focus of the research will be on image processing, data stream and software requirements.
We aim to create a camera which will be part of a space system, for example mounted to a nanosatellite, and used for Earth observation and remote sensing. Furthermore, an indirective objective of the project is to grow INETEC competences in space applications for sensorics and robotics.