Operational capability assessment for the hyperspectral sensor NA-GS using statistical and simulation modeling

Within the framework of the program on Earth remote sensing from space, the hyperspectral camera NA-GS (scientific instrument "Hyperspectrometer") produced by NPO Lepton (Zelenograd, Moscow) will be installed on the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) for experimental testing of the ground-space system for monitoring and forecasting natural and man-made disasters. The practical use of this system is associated with solving certain problems of thematic processing hyperspectral images that must meet certain quality criteria. In this paper, we propose a technique for determining the operational capabilities of NA-GS instrument based on statistical simulation modeling (SSM) data. The concept of the proposed SSM includes the ability to perform model experiments for a test polygon of complex shape, simulation of hyperspectral imaging of selected parts of the polygon with a specified accuracy, and taking into account the clouds and the zenith angle of the sun. The influence of external observation conditions on the quality of hyperspectral images is considered. Numerical experiments were carried out for selected test areas. The analysis of the results obtained confirms reliability of the proposed technique.