De-risk assessment: Terrestrial Thermal Infra Red camera for space

Investigate the suitability of microbolometer technology for space flight.Determine the achievable performance specifications via a breadboard, based on the Pico1024 sensor from Lynred 

For imaging in the thermal infrared spectrum, microbolometer detectors offer an opportunity for cheaper space missions, because of their low size and power consumption and because they don’t require special cooling. They offer the possibility of a constellation of cubesats, for earth observation. The major conclusion of the project is that the microbolometer technology can be suitable for space flight. Based on tests performed in other projects, no show stoppers were identified. A breadboard was built to test and quantify performance. In terms of image quality, the performance is as predicted. However, two major limitations were discovered. There is a limit to the accuracy of temperature measurements. Also, the relaxation time of the sensor causes some smearing in the image. Possible workarounds for these limitations were formulated. If solutions to the limitations of microbolometers can be found, they offer the possibility of cheap and simple thermal imaging space missions. In a follow up project, solutions for the limitations of microbolometer technology should be further investigated. A space qualified design for the microbolometer readout electronics can be further elaborated and prototyped. Finally, qualification tests to prove suitability for space flight can be performed.