Conceptual Design of a High-Resolution, Low Cost Topographic Mapping Mission

There is a need for space-based topographic mapping missions which are an order-of-magnitude less costly than the $100M-class missions currently planned by NASA and the commercial community. The Stereo Imaging Long-Look Satellite (STILLSAT), having a mass of approximately 100 kg, is designed for 5m instantaneous field of view (IFOV) to meet most of the topographic requirements of both the science and cartography community. The resulting Digital Elevation Models (DEM) are predicted to have 10m (absolute) contour intervals, geo-corrected by ground datum. Frame and panoramic cameras from Apollo 15, 16, and 17, as well as ESA\u27s Metric Cameras and the U.S. Large Format Camera have been cited by photogrammetrists as advantageous for topographic map production. The use of a CCD framing camera for stereo imaging was discussed by JPL in 1979 but dismissed because CCD technology was not yet mature enough. By capitalizing on recent advances in CCD technology and instituting a concept of shared stability and pointing responsibility between the bus and payload, it is now possible to consider such an advanced mission. This paper will focus on the system engineering trades resulting from mission requirements that dictate earth/satellite motion compensation to achieve very high spatial resolution, as well as off-axis cross track imaging to maximize target acquisition. The mission is approached from an integrated design paradigm wherein science, instrument, bus, and ground operations objectives are simultaneously weighed to achieve extremely low cost, low power, and reliable mission elements. The initial STILLSAT mission operations plan is to obtain multiple stereo images at base height ratios of 1.0 within targets-of-opportunity of 100km in diameter to support specific science objectives. STILLSAT is designed for line-of-sight pointing to within 0.1 degree and can image off-axis up to 20 degrees in the cross track direction. The total spacecraft and mission operations cost is expected to be well under$5M (not including launch) and is being initially proposed as a Student Explorer Development Initiative (STEDI) project to the Universities Space Research Association\u27s Advanced Design Program. A launch could occur within 24 months of go-ahead. Progressively advanced concepts of this approach will be discussed, those which can map much larger regions of the Earth through use of larger detector arrays and mosaicked images. It is even conceivable that a STILLSAT-derived single global mapping satellite or constellation of simpler satellites could provide worldwide coverage. This approach holds promise for both scientific and commercial applications

Hyperspectral Sensing Techniques Applied to Bio-masses Characterization: The Olive Husk Case

Olive husk (OH) quality, in respect of constituting particles characteristics (olive stones and pulp residues as result after pressing), represents an important issue. OH particles size class distribution and composition play, in fact, an important role for OH utilization as: organic amendment, bio-mass, food ingredient, plastic filler, abrasive, raw material in the cosmetic sector, dietary animal supplementation, etc. . OH is characterised by a strong variability according to olive characteristics and olive oil production process. Actually it does not exist any strategy able to quantify OH chemical-physical attributes versus its correct utilisation adopting simple, efficient and low costs analytical tools. Furthermore the possibility to perform its continuous monitoring, without any samples collection and analysis at laboratory scale, could strongly enhance OH utilization, with a great economic and environmental benefits. In this paper an analytical approach, based on HyperSpectral Imaging (HSI) is presented. HSI allows to perform, also on-line, a full quantification of OH characteristics in order to qualify this product for its further re-use, with particular reference as bio-mass. HSI was applied to different samples of OH, characterized by different moisture, different residual pulp content and different size class distributions. Results are presented and critically evaluated. © 2011 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing