The ESA-Russia Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars 2022) rover, with its unique 2m drill, will address key questions in the search for life on Mars. PanCam will establish the surface context, with other instruments, providing geology, atmospheric science and 3D vision. PanCam uses a pair of Wide Angle Cameras (WACs), each with an 11 position filter wheel, and a High Resolution Camera (HRC). The cameras and electronics are in an optical bench that provides the interface to the rover and planetary protection. PanCam includes a calibration target mounted on the rover deck for radiometric calibration, fiducial markers for geometric calibration and a rover inspection mirror.

Many aspects of the solar atmosphere remain poorly understood, including the mechanisms at work to heat the plasma to a million degrees. Spectroscopy is key to probing this extreme environment. After a brief introduction to the scientific questions, and the observational difficulties, I will present details of a high-resolution spectrometer designed and built at Aberystwyth with international collaborators. The spectrometer has been tested during the total solar eclipse of 2019 in Argentina, from which I will present preliminary results. Future developments, including the potential for additional channels, a hyperspectral imager, and the hope for a space-based instrument, will be discussed.

Historic records have shown that lithium enriched geothermal waters circulate within natural geological fractures at depth in Cornwall. These fracture zones outcrop at surface and can be examined to understand which structures are most prospective for further exploration. Using airborne hyperspectral imagery, a rapid and high-resolution survey of alteration patterns can indicate the structures that have interacted with geothermal water. Spectra were analysed for kaolin and haematite minerals which were successfully identified and subsequently verified using lab analyses. A drilling campaign was successful in confirming the presence of lithium in structures that were identified in the remote sensing programme.

The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover is scheduled to launch in 2022, with the goal of searching for signs of past and present life on Mars by investigating the geochemical environment in the shallow subsurface and characterising the surface environment. The landing site, Oxia Planum, is a clay bearing plain approximately 200 km wide at the margin of Chryse Planitia. In this presentation we show results of CRISM hyperspectral analysis within the ~2.1 × 10^5 km^2 Oxia Planum model catchment area, which contributes to the geological context for the landing site.

The ExoMars2022 mission is scheduled for launch in summer 2022 with a suite of spectral instruments to investigate the Martian surface and near sub-surface. The context instruments: Panoramic Camera (PanCam), a Wide-Angle Cameras (WAC) stereo imaging system, High Resolution Camera (HRC), and the Infrared Spectrometer for ExoMars (ISEM) will be imperative in the selection of drill and analysis sites, and the search for life on Mars. This study used a VNIR SPECIM IQ hyperspectral camera (400-1000nm) and RxSpec 700Z (350-2500nm) to compare to the ExoMars PanCam Instrument emulator (AUPE) to build mission tools and protocols with Martian Meteorite targets.

We present "HERA", a novel hyperspectral camera based on a Fourier-transform approach. Two delayed replicas of the optical field entering an imaging system are produced by an ultra-stable common-path birefringent interferometer that combines compactness, high delay precision, long-term stability and insensitivity to vibrations. Each pixel of a bidimensional sensor records a high contrast interferogram as a function of the relative delay between the two replicas. An appropriate Fourier transformation of the dataset produces spectrally resolved images that exhibit high contrast and spatial resolution, only limited by the lens and the sensor. Examples of application in cultural heritage will be reported.

Hyperspectral imaging can reveal the slightest difference in the spectral response of seemingly identical inks. We have studied the reflectivity of the fundamental colors used in inkjet printers, and found distinctive spectral features depending on the supplier of the ink. We analysed discontinued bank notes, and identified discrepancies in the SWIR response of allegedly genuine notes of different ages. This may either reveal information on the history of the note as a legal tender, or reveal the fake nature of a note sold as genuine. These observations may be useful in the identification of high-fidelity counterfeit documents, or bank notes.

The presence of pathogenic microorganisms such as salmonella, listeria and E. coli in foods is a major threat to consumer safety. The failure to detect these pathogens can result in severe outbreaks of foodborne illness. There are several technologies utilized in food pathogen detection today including plating, nucleic acid-based polymerase chain reaction techniques and immunoassays. While these technologies have their merits, each approach requires significant sample incubation and total time to answer of 18 – 72hrs. HinaLea is working in collaboration with the USDA to develop a system which will to significantly accelerate the identification of foodborne pathogens. The system combines darkfield microscopy, hyperspectral imaging, machine learning and automation in a standalone unit. Our vision is to move towards real-time identification of pathogens in the food production environment.

Large-scale dieback of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.), caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, is posing an immense threat to forest health in Europe, requiring effective monitoring at large scales. We created a pipeline to combine hyperspectral imagery with field data and individual tree crown (ITC) segmentation to (1) identify ash trees in mixed species forests and (2) classify ash crowns according to dieback severity. Using the pipeline, species and ash dieback severity maps were successfully produced for forests near Cambridge, UK. In this session, we will present the results produced from the study and discuss potential applications of hyperspectral remote sensing in plant epidemiology and forest management.

Hyperspectral imaging is an innovative and exciting technology that holds incredible diagnostic, scientific and categorization power. Current industry innovation is a testament to the creative power and imagination of the diverse community seeking to optimize this technology. However, fundamental instrument performance is not consistently well characterized, well understood or well represented to suit distinct application endeavors or commercial market expectations. Establishing a common language, technical specification, testing criteria, task-specific recommendations and common data formats are essential to allowing this technology to achieve its true altruistic and economic market potential. In 2018 the IEEE P4001 was formed to facilitate consistent use of terminology, characterization methods and data structures. This talk is a progress report to inform the hyperspectral community of the status of the work to date, the interconnection with other standards and outline the roadmap.

Cubert GmbH (Germany) has developed a novel snapshot hyperspectral imaging approach. Our camera is based on light field technology, where both the intensity and direction of incident light rays are used to produce spectral images. The camera combines a continuously variable bandpass filter, a multi-lens array and a 20-MP CMOS sensor. This spectral camera comes with a native resolution of 410x410 pixel, resulting in 168,100 pixels, each with 125 spectral bands covering 450-950nm, taken in a single snapshot. Our snapshot imaging spectrometer captures the entire scene in a few milliseconds or less, which makes it a game-changer in real-time spectral imaging and video spectroscopy.

Multispectral and hyperspectral cameras have long been large and expensive lab instruments which need to be operated by expert users. At imec, our mission has always been to build compact, affordable and easy-to-use systems for high fidelity spectral imaging. In this presentation, we will explain our latest developments in data processing. This already opened the door to many new applications like outdoor surveillance, orchard inspection, UAV, medical microscopy, under water imaging, ... with high spectral radiance and reflectance accuracy.