Leonardo-Finmeccanica has signed a contract from 74 million with the European Space Agency (ESA) for the implementation of the FLEX tool of the ESA mission of the same name. Part of the "Earth Explorer" program, from the 2022 FLEX it will study the state of health of vegetation, a fundamental component of ecosystems with essential functions for maintaining life on our planet.
In particular, Leonardo, at the head of a consortium of European industries of which OHB is the main partner System AG, will be engaged for four years in the design, production and qualification of the spectrometer, built in Campi Bisenzio (Florence), which will detect the light from around 800 km in height emitted by plants breaking it down into its different colors. In this way it will be possible to establish with absolute precision the intensity of the "fluorescence", or the faint reddish glow emitted during the chlorophyll photosynthesis and imperceptible to the naked eye, direct index of the state of health of the vegetation.
FLEX will orbit and operate in tandem with the Sentinel-3 satellite of the European Copernicus Program, on which another instrument made by Leonardo - the SLSTR radiometer - measures the surface temperature of oceans and land. The data collected will be of support to respond to the challenges associated with climate change and the sustainable development of the environment, ecosystems and territories, as well as providing valuable information for the agricultural sector.
“This contract represents further confirmation of Leonardo's excellence in space optics: in Campi Bisenzio we have created, together with the Italian Space Agency and the scientific community, similar instruments for the most important international space missions. From our laboratories, where we can count on highly specialized engineers and technicians and state-of-the-art equipment in Europe, come hyperspectral and multispectral electro-optical instruments capable of winning commercial competitions on a global level " - said Fabrizio Giulianini, Director of the Electronics, Defense and Security Systems Division of Leonardo-Finmeccanica.
(Images: Leonardo-Finmeccanica)
