Space, experts Leonardo: “Prisma an eye on the health of the planet”

Forests at risk of fire, land in the process of desertification, debilitated agricultural fields, illegal landfills, asbestos buildings, but also minefields, hidden structures and suspicious activities: nothing escapes Prisma’s hyperspectral gaze. In a post on Leonardo’s website, the experts of our technological giant underline that Prisma Second Generation will have the aim of ensuring the continuity of the work carried out by its precursor currently in orbit which, from about 615 km from Earth, collects data and information on the state of health of our planet. Not only that, based on the great interest in the hyperspectral sector, Prisma Second Generation will be designed with new and more performing performances in order to respond to the growing needs of Earth observation data, for the benefit of institutions, the scientific community and all citizens. The new mission will therefore make it possible to capitalize and consolidate the level of technological excellence achieved by the national industry in the Earth observation sector and, in particular, in hyperspectral technology. It is therefore the eye of Prisma, or its hyperspectral sensor, what makes this mission unique of its kind, according to Leonardo’s experts in the post on the site. To define the hyperspectral technology of Prisma unica is first and foremost Enrico Suetta, Head of Research and Development at Leonardo’s Optronics and Space, since by analyzing the reflected light and infrared signals coming from the earth, the instrument is able to “analyze practically everything: minerals, gases , plants, liquids, artificial and natural materials “. But what is hyperspectral technology? Leonardo’s experts highlight that the hyperspectral allows us to see things that the human eye cannot and to recognize: not only the shape of objects, but also their chemical and physical composition. In fact, each material has its own “spectral signature”, as if it were a fingerprint: it presents an absolutely unique combination of colors, called spectral bands, each characterized by a precise intensity. An image of Leonardo’s Prisma hyperspectral sensor is in fact composed of 240 images, one for each visible spectral band. Prisma Second Generation will have an even more powerful hyperspectral tool. First of all, the ground resolution of the images will be increased compared to what is currently possible. This capacity will increase the benefits that come from the data collected: for example, you may notice a spill into the sea before it becomes too large, but precision agriculture can also make use of even more accurate data. Other novelties that will characterize the hyperspectral payload of the second generation, for Leonardo’s experts will be the ability to generate images in 3D and in ‘mosaic’ mode. These two new functions, pioneers for hyperspectral technology, will increase the quality and quantity of the data collected, reads the post on Leonardo’s website. The 3D images, made up of ‘shots’ of the same area captured from multiple angles, will allow you to have a 360-degree view of the area of ​​interest. The ‘mosaic’ images, on the other hand, will offer the opportunity to capture more details of a large area in a single overflight of the satellite. The new mission will be able to send about 3 terabytes of hyperspectral images to Earth per day, in fact more than 10 times the capacity of its predecessor. The feasibility study for Prisma Second Generation requested by ASI was assigned to a temporary grouping of companies (Rti) composed of Thales Alenia Space, as agent, with Leonardo, Telespazio, e-Geos and Sitael. In particular, Leonardo, thanks to his expertise in the development of electro-optical and hyperspectral sensors, will be responsible for the new hyperspectral payload of Prisma Second Generation. Thales Alenia Space Italia will be responsible for the design of the end-to-end system and the new satellite. Telespazio will take care of the activities for the definition of the ground segment of the Prisma Second Generation program, in particular the requirements and the system architecture. e-Geoa, a Telespazio (80%) and Asi (20%) company, will be responsible for analyzing the market scenarios in which Prisma Second Generation will operate and will support Leonardo in defining user requirements.