An IR imager for CubeSat
We are developing a small infrared camera system for use on Cubesats. Currently we are looking at design concepts and exploring environmental applications for high spatial resolution spectral infrared imagery. Obvious candidate applications include: hazards monitoring (volcanoes, wildfires, pollution etc), precision farming, ocean and land surface temperatures, hot-spot monitoring and gathering nighttime data, when visible imagery is unavailable. A key feature of the concept is to utilise COTS microbolometer technology with spectral capability coupled with existing optical layouts. Using existing CubeSat configurations, it is possible to obtain ~50 m pixel spatial resolution.