Spectral Information Distillation for Lightweight Exploration

About this technology

Overview

The software addresses two critical problems for planetary science missions. The first is data bandwidth. Modern imaging spectrometers produce huge datasets, roughly 100 times larger than standard images, which may not fit into the communication bandwidth available for transmitting data from deep space. This restricts the amount of scientific data that can be sent back from missions to the Moon and Mars. The second problem is operational agility as it can take days or even weeks for a full hyperspectral observation to be downlinked and processed into a form that scientists can use for mission planning. This software aims to solve that by creating summary products that can be transmitted and understood quickly (via a custom visualizer), allowing mission teams to react to findings as fast as possible.