SBIR-STTR Award

During this effort an instrument for calibrating the lunar irradiance will be designed. Such an instrument will lead to reliable exoatmospheric calibration for past, current, and future earth-viewing instruments and improve the accuracy of their data products, which in turn will improve climate change and weather models. The instrument will measure both the solar and lunar irradiances, which will enable cross calibration with the TSIS mission. The proposed instrument concept has been formulated to take advantage of the near-collimated nature of the input signals. The work plan is to develop detailed ray-trace and radiometric models of the instrument. The error budget for the instrument will be analyzed and pre- and post-launch calibration plans will be formulated.

The purpose of this effort is to develop an instrument to accurately calibrate (1% k=2) the lunar spectral reflectance (350 to 2,300 nm) at relatively low expense from a small satellite. Assuming the TSIS missions are successful and the solar irradiance is known, the lunar spectral reflectance can be used to provide known lunar irradiance, thereby providing a stable exo-atmospheric calibration source for earth-viewing instruments on low earth orbit satellites. The proposed instrument has been designed specifically for calibrating the lunar irradiance. It is compact, simple in concept, and the data product is nearly immune to long-term degradation because it collects solar and lunar signals using the same optics in the same way. During this effort a prototype instrument will be developed, tested, and evaluated. Design reviews will be conducted and a plan will be made for a next-generation instrument.