HyTI: high spectral resolution thermal imaging from a 6U CubeSat platform

The HyTI (Hyperspectral Thermal Imager) mission, funded by NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office InVEST (In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies) program, will demonstrate how high spectral and spatial long-wave infrared image data can be acquired from a 6U CubeSat platform. The mission will use a spatially modulated interferometric imaging technique to produce spectro-radiometrically calibrated image cubes, with 25 channels between 8-10.7 microns, at a ground sample distance of ~70 m. The HyTI performance model indicates narrow band NEDTs of <0.3 K. The small form factor of HyTI is made possible via the use of a no-moving-parts Fabry-Perot interferometer, and JPL’s cryogenically-cooled BIRD FPA technology. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than October 2020. The value of HyTI to Earth scientists will be demonstrated via on-board processing of the raw instrument data to generate L1 and L2 products, with a focus on rapid delivery of precision agriculture metrics.