APEX - Airborne PRISM Experiment
Contact Persons
Daniel Schläpfer | |
Keywords
APEX, Airborne PRISM Experiment, hyperspectral, imaging sensor
Abstract
RSL initiated in 1996 a project that concentrates on the definition of an airborne imaging spectrometer which will represent a precursor mission to future planned spaceborne imaging spectrometers. This project includes the definition of an airborne dispersive pushbroom imaging spectrometer (named 'Airborne Prism Experiment' (APEX)) that will be a major contribution to the application development for imaging spectrometry in Europe. The APEX project is implemented through ESA PRODEX (European Space Agency PROgramme de Développement d'EXpériences Scientifiques), which aims at providing funding for the industrial development of scientific instruments or experiments proposed by institutes or universities, which have been selected by ESA for one of its programs in the various fields of space research (e.g., Earth observation). ESA provides administrative, financial-management, and technical support (ESA, 2001).
The APEX project started in 1997 by performing a feasibility study on the design of an imaging spectrometer (Itten et al., 1997), which resulted in a first performance definition (Schaepman et al., 1998), and a subsequent design phase (Schaepman et al., 2000). Currently, various parts of APEX are being finalized in design, breadboarding and performance analysis of the processing chain (Kaiser et al., 2003, Schläpfer et al., 2003, Brazile et al., 2004). The subsequent construction of the new cutting-edge technology APEX instrument is planned to be completed by early 2007. By then, Europe will have a new tool with unprecedented accuracy and possibilities for a large user community (Nieke et al., 2004, 2005).
Within the development of the APEX instrument, RSL will play a pathfinder role to exchange new scientific knowledge in the science community by designing a new exchange node of scientific ideas and results, the APEX Science Center: While open source code development has become popularly supported within the computer software community, it continues to be less accepted within the science community. There is no doubt that open source code development provides an optimized path for creating software applications (e.g. models). It is of benefit to both the science funding agencies and associated scientists to adopt this manner of code/model development (Moisan et al., 2005). The ASC will enable the exchange of algorithms and models within the science community in a way that will be unique. Researchers, algorithm developers and scientist will have the chance to exchange data and code in form of research products via www connection and the APEX Processing and Archiving Facility (PAF). These research products will be processed by a PAF operator (or via special web-based GUI) for a dedicated scientific community aiming towards the development of new methods / algorithms. The research product generation is supported by the APEX PAF software using a flexible plug-in structure (Nieke et al., 2004, 2005). Algorithm developers are able to provide their own algorithms, so that third party users are able to make use of new routines and scientific calculations. A documentation of the algorithms is provided by the developers in form of algorithm theoretical basis documents (ATBD).
