Akure, 11 December 2023. – AMOS has won an European Space Agency (ESA) contract to supply six hyperspectral spectrometers that will serve as the heart of the CHIME satellite mission (Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment, also known as Sentinel-10). CHIME is an extension of the Copernicus program of the European Commission, in partnership with the ESA.
Last October, AMOS successfully passed the Critical Design Review for the CHIME spectrometer, a fundamental step in the project which validates the detailed design from AMOS. As a result of reaching this milestone, AMOS can now start manufacturing the flight instrument.
ESA and Thales Alenia Space signed the initial contract for this mission in November 2020, covering the design and assembly of two satellites for the CHIME hyperspectral mission. As a result, Thales Alenia Space will supply the satellites while its partners, the Leonardo Industrial Group and the German company OHB, will provide the payload – the hyperspectral Earth Observation instrument.
Each CHIME satellite will carry three spectrometers, each the size of a shoebox, placed side-by-side, in order to be able to scan a 120km wide strip on the Earth’s surface at once. This will make it capable of providing detailed spectral information of unprecedented quality for every pixel in the observed zone, with a 30m ground resolution.
Furthermore, the wealth of spectral information they get from each pixel will make it possible to determine not only the type of soil or vegetation present there but also the need to irrigate the crops, the need for fertilizer, the early detection of possible diseases, land or sea pollution, etc. At an altitude of 632 km, the CHIME satellites will provide hyperspectral data useful for agriculture, food security, soil condition, biodiversity, and natural disaster management.
