Pre-flight Testing of an Ocean Radiometer for Carbon Assessment (ORCA) Prototype with a Realistic Scene from a Hyperspectral Image Projector (HIP)

We projected a multispectral MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) scene into a prototype National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ocean Radiometer for Carbon Assessment (ORCA) [1] instrument using a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Hyperspectral Image Projector (HIP) [2]. The MODIS scene included some clouds over ocean, similar to what ORCA would measure during its flight. During the tests, the ORCA scan mirror was parked, and the projected scene was scrolled in the track direction in order to simulate along-track platform motion. The ORCA instrument measured the projected scene, and we compared the ORCA measured scene to the projected scene, in the spatial and spectral domains, in the near infrared spectral region. The results show reasonable agreement between the measured and projected scenes, and serve to provide confidence that the system was working as expected. We present the results and describe some of the details, which serve to form an example of how the HIP can be used to perform pre-flight testing of sensors with realistic scenes.

[1] M. E. Wilson, et al. “Optical Design of the Ocean Radiometer for Carbon Assessment,” Proc. SPIE 8153, Earth Observing Systems XVI, 81530S (2011).

[2] J. P. Rice, et al., “Hyperspectral image projector applications,” Proc. SPIE 8254, 82540R (2012).