PRISMA: a revolution for Earth observation and monitoring of environmental resources

(To Leonardo)
31/01/19

The launch of the mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) PRISMA (HyperSpectral Precursor of the Application Mission) is approaching. The satellite will be launched from the European space base of Kourou in French Guiana on the night between 8 and 9 March next, using the VEGA launcher of the European Space Agency of Italian design and construction.

From its orbit, at about 620 kilometers of altitude, PRISMA will look at the Earth on a global scale with different eyes being equipped with an innovative electro-optical instrumentation. The Italian satellite will observe the planet with the most powerful operational hyperspectral instrument in the world, capable of working in numerous, narrow and contiguous bands arranged from the visible to the near infrared (VNIR, Visible and Near InfraRed) and up to the short wave infrared ( SWIR, Short Wave InfraRed).

The PRISMA satellite is an ASI project and represents a global excellence, which highlights the ability of our country to provide a turnkey space system, from design to construction, from launch to ground data management. PRISMA was created by an RTI, Temporary Grouping of Companies, led by OHB Italy, responsible for the mission and management of the three main segments (ground, flight and launch), and Leonardo, who created the electro-optical instrumentation. The national profile is even better defined by the launch that will take place with the VEGA carrier produced by AVIO, ESA's launcher but mainly of Italian design and construction. The mission control center was built by Telespazio while the acquisition and processing of the data will take place from the Matera Space Center.

The mission will be able to make an unprecedented contribution to the observation of natural resources from space and to the study of the main environmental processes (e.g. interactions between the atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere; observation of changes in the environment and climate on a global level; effects of activities anthropogenic effects on ecosystems). In the application area, PRISMA will be able to provide valuable information in support of prevention works with respect to natural (such as hydrogeological) and anthropic (including soil pollution) risks, monitoring of cultural heritage, assistance actions to humanitarian crises, of agricultural activities and exploitation of mineral resources.

Unlike the passive satellite sensors currently operating, which record the solar radiation reflected by our planet in a limited number of spectral bands - typically at most a dozen - the instrumentation on board the satellite PRISMA is in fact able to acquire 240 (239 bands spectral and the panchromatic channel); this will allow to refine the knowledge concerning natural resources and the main environmental processes in progress, such as the phenomena linked to climate change. The hyperspectral technology allows, in fact, to see more of the human eye and to recognize not only the shapes of the objects but also which chemical elements they contain. Each material has its own spectral signature, a true digital imprint: a unique combination of colors, called spectral bands. The PRISMA tool will be able to analyze this signature by traveling to 27.000 km per hour, and can thus identify an object or trace the characteristics of an area under observation.

The PRISMA mission logo incorporates some stylized aspects of the project: the satellite profile, Earth observation with a hyperspectral payload and a prism. The logo also includes the inscription that shows the main players: the Italian Space Agency and the RTI industrial team formed by OHB Italia and Leonardo.

Prisma represents the perfect synthesis of an industrial, research and complete design system. An industrial team composed of:

OHB Italy is responsible for managing the entire program and mission, system engineering, design, development and integration of the platform and all the satellite validation activities. The satellite was integrated into the OHB Italia plants in Tortona, Alessandria. 

Leonardo designed and built the electro-optical payload of the PRISMA mission in Campi Bisenzio (FI), which includes, in addition to a color camera, the most powerful hyperspectral instrument in the world currently operating for Earth observation. Also from Campi Bisenzio comes the star sensor that will allow the satellite to orient itself in space, while in Nerviano (MI) Leonardo has created the solar panels and the power supply unit for PRISMA.
Telespazio (Leonardo 67%, Thales 33%) has built the Ground Segment - which includes the mission control center at Fucino (AQ) and the data acquisition and processing center in Matera - and will manage LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) and in-orbit test activities. Finally, Thales Alenia Space (Thales 67%, Leonardo 33%) built the data transmission system on board the satellite.

VEGA will be the ESA launcher that will take PRISMA into orbit. It will be the launch 14 number for vector made by AVIO, the company an international group leader in the field of space launchers, in propulsion and space transport. It is prime contractor for Vega, the space launcher designed to carry satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO-Low Earth Orbit), which has allowed Italy to have direct access to space. Avio manages the Vega industrial supply chain, which includes companies from seven different European countries. Vega is developed and manufactured for 65% in Italy, while the remaining 35% of production activities are distributed between Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and France.