Hyperspectral imaging systems and methods for imaging a remote object

A hyperspectral imaging system and a method are described herein for providing a hyperspectral image of an area of a remote object. In one aspect, the hyperspectral imaging system includes a fore optic with optics for acquiring and projecting an image from a remote object, a scannable slit mechanism with a plurality of slits for receiving the projected image, where the projected image simultaneously illuminates two or more of the plurality of slits, a spectrometer for receiving and dispersing images passing through the two or more simultaneously-illuminated slits, and a two-dimensional image sensor for recording images received from the spectrometer, where the images received from different slits are recorded on different sets of detection elements of the two-dimensional image sensor.