THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS THE SPATIAL HETERODYNE INTERFEROMETER FOR METHANE SOUNDING (SHIMS), A LIGHTWEIGHT, CO…

Public award description

THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS THE SPATIAL HETERODYNE INTERFEROMETER FOR METHANE SOUNDING (SHIMS), A LIGHTWEIGHT, COMPACT, ROBUST SPECTROMETER SYSTEM FOR REMOTE SENSING OF METHANE (CH4) VIA A SERIES OF ABSORPTION LINES IN THE ~TETRADECAD~, OVER THE RANGE 1.6 TO 1.7 MICRONS. THIS INSTRUMENT WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO A SATELLITE PACKAGE, AND IS CAPABLE OF BEING SCALED INTO A 2- TO 3-U CUBESAT PAYLOAD SIZE. THE END RESULT OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE: (1) A FULL NADIR-VIEWING NEAR IR SPECTROMETER SYSTEM, FEATURING THE FIRST-EVER HIGH-RESOLUTION MONOLITHIC SPATIAL HETERODYNE SPECTROMETER FOR THE NEAR IR RANGE; AND, (2) A SEPARATE PROTOTYPE OF THE FIRST-EVER SHS MONOLITH WITH DEDICATED, BUILT-IN OUTPUT OPTICS WHICH ATTACH DIRECTLY TO THE SHS MONOLITH AND TO A DETECTOR VIA A STANDARD C-MOUNT ADAPTER. THIS INNOVATION WILL CIRCUMVENT THE NEED FOR THE USER TO INCORPORATE SEPARATE OPTICS OUTSIDE THE MONOLITH, MAKING THE UNIT EVEN MORE END-USER-READY.