Skip to main content
Log in

Radiometric calibration of the SIMBIO-SYS STereo imaging Channel

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
CEAS Space Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The STereo imaging Channel (STC) is a double wide-angle camera developed to be one of the channels of the SIMBIO-SYS instrument onboard of the ESA BepiColombo mission to Mercury. STC main goal is to map in 3D the whole Mercury surface. The geometric and radiometric responses of the STC Proto Flight model have been characterized on-ground during the calibration campaign. The derived responses will be used to calibrate the STC images that will be acquired in flight. The aim is to determine the functions linking the detected signal in digital number to the radiance of the target surface in physical units. The result of the radiometric calibration consists in the determination of well-defined quantities: (1) the dark current as a function of the integration time and of the detector temperature, settled and controlled to be stable at 268 K; (2) the read out noise, which is associated with the noise signal of the read-out electronic; and (3) the fixed pattern noise, which is generated by the different response of each pixel. Once these quantities are known, the photon response and the photo-response non-uniformity, which represents the variation of the photon responsivity of a pixel in an array, can be derived. The final result of the radiometric calibration is the relation between the radiance of an accurately known and uniform source, and the digital numbers measured by the detector.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Flamini, E., Capaccioni, F., Colangeli, L., Cremonese, G., Doressoundiram, A., Josset, J.L., Langevin, Y., Debei, S., Capria, M.T., de Sanctis, M.C., Marinangeli, L., Massironi, M., Mazzotta Epifani, E., Naletto, G., Palumbo, P., Eng, P., Roig, J.F., Caporali, A., Da Deppo, V., Erard, S., Federico, C., Forni, O., Sgavetti, M., Filacchione, G., Giacomini, L., Marra, G., Martellato, E., Zusi, M., Cosi, M., Bettanini, C., Calamai, L., Zaccariotto, M., Tommasi, L., Dami, M., Ficai Veltroni, J., Poulet, F., Hello, Y., Simbio-Sys Team: SIMBIO-SYS: the spectrometer and imagers integrated observatory system for the BepiColombo planetary orbiter. Planet. Space Sci. 58, 125–143 (2010)

  2. Chi, Z., Suying, Y., Jiangtao, X.: Noise in a cmos digital pixel sensor. J. Semicond. 32(11), 115005 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Brouk, I., Nemirovsky, A., Nemirovsky, Y.: Analysis of noise in CMOS image sensor. In: 2008 IEEE International Conference on Microwaves, Communications, Antennas and Electronic Systems, pp. 1–8. IEEE (2008)

  4. Cremonese, G., Fantinel, D., Giro, E., Capria, M .T., Da Deppo, V., Naletto, G., Forlani, G., Massironi, M., Giacomini, L., Sgavetti, M., Simioni, E., Debei, S., Bettanini, C., Zaccariotto, M., Patrizia Borin, P., Marinangeli, L., Calamai, L., Flamini, E.: The stereo camera on the bepicolombo ESA/JAXA mission: a novel approach. Adv. Geosci. Planet. Sci. (PS) 15, 305–322 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Da Deppo, V., Naletto, G., Cremonese, G., Calamai, L.: Optical design of the single-detector planetary stereo camera for the BepiColombo European Space Agency mission to Mercury. Appl. Opt. 49, 2910 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Da Deppo, V., Martellato, E., Simioni, E., Naletto, G., Cremonese, G.: Radiometric model for the stereo camera STC onboard the BepiColombo ESA mission. In: Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy VI. SPIE Proc., vol. 9911, 99111T (2016)

  7. Simioni, E., Da Deppo, V., Re, C., Slemer, A., Capria, M. T., Veltroni, I. F., Dami, M., Borrelli, D., Tommasi, L., Cremonese, G.: The pre-launch distortion definition of SIMBIO-SYS/STC stereo camera by rational function models. In: Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, vol. 10698, p. 1069850 (2018)

  8. Slemer, A., Simioni, E., Deppo, V.D., Zusi, M., Re, C., Lucchetti, A., Dami, M., Borrelli, D., Veltroni, I.F., CaPria, M.T., Cremonese, G.: Performances of the simbio-sys stereo imaging channel (STC) on board bepicolombo/esa spacecraft. In: 2018 5th IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for AeroSpace (MetroAeroSpace), pp. 257–262 (2018)

  9. Da Deppo, V., Martellato, E., Rossi, G., Naletto, G., Della Corte, V., Capaccioni, F., Filacchione, G., Zusi, M., Palumbo, P., Aroldi, G., Baroni, M., Borrelli, D., Tommasi, L., Dami, M., Ficai Veltroni, I., Flamini, E., Cremonese, G.: Characterization of the integrating sphere for the on-ground calibration of the SIMBIOSYS instrument for the BepiColombo ESA mission. In: Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, SPIE Proc., vol. 9143, p. 914344 (2014)

  10. Simioni, E., De Sio, A., Da Deppo, V., Naletto, G., Cremonese, G.: CMOS detectors: lessons learned during the STC stereo channel preflight calibration. In: Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, vol. 10562, p. 105622M (2017)

  11. Hopkinson, G.R., Goodman, T.M., Prince, S.R.: A Guide to the Use and Calibration of Detector Array Equipment, vol. 142. SPIE Press, Bellingham (2004)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  12. Simioni, E., Re, C., Da Deppo, V., Naletto, G., Borrelli, D., Dami, M., Ficai Veltroni, I., Cremonese, G.: Indoor Calibration for Stereoscopic Camera STC: A New Method, vol. 10563 (2017)

  13. Naletto, G., Cesaro, M., Albasini, A., Cremonese, G., Da Deppo, V., Forlani, G., Re, C., Roncella, R., Salemi, G., Simioni, E.: Innovative Optical Setup for Testing a Stereo Camera for Space Applications, vol. 8442 (2012)

  14. Slemer, A., Zusi, M., Simioni, E., Da Deppo, V., Re, C., Della Corte, V., Filacchione, G., Palumbo, P., Capaccioni, F., Cremonese, G.: A Mercury surface radiometric model for SIMBIO-SYS instrument suite on board of BepiColombo mission. In: Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series, vol. 10698, p. 106984C (2018)

Download references

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) under ASI-INAF agreement 2017-47-H.0. The SIMBIO-SYS instrument has been developed by Leonardo under ASI contract I054/10/0.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Slemer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Slemer, A., Da Deppo, V., Simioni, E. et al. Radiometric calibration of the SIMBIO-SYS STereo imaging Channel. CEAS Space J 11, 485–496 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-019-00277-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-019-00277-5

Keywords

Navigation