The Italian Space Agency satellite will study the earth using a hyperspectral optical sensor, which can open new scenarios to control the environmental processes of our planet
Approach of the launch of the mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) PRISMA (HyperSpectral PRecursor of the Application Mission). The satellite will be launched from the European space base of Kourou in French Guiana the night between 8 and 9 next March, using the VEGA launcher of the European Space Agency for Italian design and construction.
From its orbit, about 620 kilometers of altitude, PRISMA will look at the Earth on a global scale with different eyes being equipped with an innovative electro-optical instrumentation. The Italian satellite will observe the planet with the most powerful operative hyperspectral instrument in the world, able to work in numerous, narrow and contiguous bands arranged from the visible to the near infrared (VNIR, Visible and Near InfraRed) and up to the infrared shortwave ( SWIR, Short Wave InfraRed).
The PRISMA satellite is a project of the ASI and represents a global excellence, which highlights the capabilities of our country to provide a turnkey space system, from planning to implementation, from launching to ground data management. PRISMA was realized by a RTI, Temporary Grouping of Companies, led by OHB Italy, responsible for the mission and management of the three main segments (land, flight and launch), and Leonardo, who created the electro-optical instrumentation. To further define the national profile is the launch that will take place with the VEGA vector produced by AVIO, launcher of the ESA but of Italian design and construction. The mission control center was created by Telespazio while the acquisition and processing of data will take place from Matera Space Center.
The mission will be able to make an unprecedented contribution to the observation of natural resources from the space and to the study of the main environmental processes (eg interactions between the atmosphere, the biosphere and the hydrosphere, observation of changes in the environment and climate at the global level; anthropics on ecosystems). In the application field, PRISMA will be able to provide valuable information to support the prevention of natural hazards (such as hydrogeological) and anthropic (including soil pollution), the monitoring of cultural heritage, the aid actions to humanitarian crises, agricultural activities and exploitation of mineral resources.
Unlike the passive satellite sensors currently operating, which record the solar radiation reflected by our planet in a limited number of spectral bands - typically at most a dozen - the instrumentation on board the satellite PRISMA is in fact able to acquire 240 (239 bands spectral and the panchromatic channel); this will allow to refine the knowledge concerning natural resources and the main environmental processes in progress, such as the phenomena linked to climate change. The hyperspectral technology allows, in fact, to see more of the human eye and to recognize not only the shapes of the objects but also which chemical elements they contain. Each material has its own spectral signature, a true digital imprint: a unique combination of colors, called spectral bands. The PRISMA tool will be able to analyze this signature by traveling to 27.000 km per hour, and can thus identify an object or trace the characteristics of an area under observation.
The PRISMA mission logo incorporates some stylized aspects of the project: the satellite profile, the Earth observation with a hyperspectral payload and a prism.
The logo also includes the inscription that shows the main actors: the Italian Space Agency and the industrial team of the RTI formed by OHB Italy and Leonardo.
Prisma represents the perfect synthesis of an industrial system, of research and complete planning. An industrial team consisting of:
OHB Italy is responsible for managing the entire program and mission, system engineering, design, development and integration of the platform and all the satellite validation activities. The satellite was integrated into the OHB Italia plants in Tortona, Alessandria.
Leonardo he designed and built a Campi Bisenzio (FI) the electro-optical payload of the PRISMA mission, which includes, in addition to a color camera, the world's most powerful hyperspectral instrument currently operating for Earth observation. Also from Campi Bisenzio comes the star sensor that will allow the satellite to navigate in space, while in Nerviano (MI) Leonardo has created solar panels and the power supply unit of PRISMA.
Telespazio (Leonardo 67%, Thales 33%) has created the Earth Segment - which includes the mission control center at Fucino (AQ) and the data acquisition and processing center in Matera - and will manage LEOPs (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) and in-orbit test activities. Thales Alenia Space (Thales 67%, Leonardo 33%), finally, has implemented the system of data transmission on board the satellite.
VEGA will be the ESA launcher that will take PRISMA into orbit. It will be the launch 14 number for vector made by AVIO, the company an international group leader in the field of space launchers, in propulsion and space transport. It is prime contractor for Vega, the space launcher designed to carry satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO-Low Earth Orbit), which has allowed Italy to have direct access to space. Avio manages the Vega industrial supply chain, which includes companies from seven different European countries. Vega is developed and manufactured for 65% in Italy, while the remaining 35% of production activities are distributed between Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and France.