Aerosol-UA satellite mission for the polarimetric study of aerosols in the atmosphere

Solar Light Radiometry Calibration Unit for a ScanPol Polarimeter of the Aerosol-UA Space Mission

“…Te Aerosol-UA project will be implemented using a modifcation of the 30 kg platform. Te payload includes the following two devices: the high precision scanning polarimeter, the ScanPol, and the wide-feld multispectral imager polarimeter MSIP [2,5], mounted in a single frame [1,24]. Te ScanPol operates in six spectral bands from the near ultraviolet to the shortwave infrared spectral with wavelengths of 370, 410, 555, 865, 1378, and 1610 nm.…”

“…Te MSIP includes three polarizing paths and two radiometric paths to quantify Stokes parameters I, Q, and U in one shot in the broad feld of view 60 °× 60 °at the wavelengths 410, 555, and 865 nm and retrieve the aerosol optical depth in eight spectral wavebands. Te spatial resolution of the MSIP polarimeter is 6 km on the Earth's surface at the nadir, with 15 viewing angles in a single scene [4,5].…”

“…Te primary purpose of the Aerosol-UA space mission is to determine the microphysical characteristics of aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere from the orbit using spectropolarimeters described in previous papers [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Te mission is planned for launch on a subpolar sunsynchronous orbit of approximately 700 km altitude and an inclination of 98 °using the YuzhSat satellite platform with a tentative launch in 2025 by the Yuzhnoye State Design Ofce.…”

“…Tese models take into account the main sources of measurement errors, such as shifts in the levels of dark currents, shifts in the photodetector's spectral sensitivity, and others. Te possibilities and methods of polarimeter calibration are outlined in papers [4,5]. Te proposed calibration methods aim to reduce the errors in determining the degree and angle of linear polarization (DoLP and AoLP) for the ScanPol to 0.15% and 0.2 °, respectively.…”