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ESA NightPod (ESA NightPod)
05.08.13

OpNom:

Overview | Description | Applications | Operations | Results | Publications | Imagery

Experiment Overview

This content was provided by Massimo Sabbatini, M. S. Esposito, and is maintained in a database by the ISS Program Science Office.

Information provided courtesy of the Erasmus Experiment Archive.
Brief Summary

The ESA NightPod is used to improve digital photography for Earth observation at night by using long exposure time and compensating for the relative motion of the International Space Station and Earth. Possible scenario's include: cities at night, vegetation fires at night, visual analysis of maritime traffic / road traffic, volcano activity at night, urban pollution, squid fishing at night, day/night transitions.

Principal Investigator(s)

  • Massimo Sabbatini, European Space Research and Technology Research Centre, Noordwijk, Netherlands
  • M. S. Esposito, Cosine Science & Computing BV, Netherlands

    • Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

    Information Pending

    Developer(s)
    Information Pending

    Sponsoring Space Agency

    European Space Agency (ESA)

    Sponsoring Organization

    Information Pending

    Research Benefits

    Earth Benefits, Scientific Discovery

    ISS Expedition Duration:

    September 2011 - September 2012

    Expeditions Assigned

    29/30,31/32

    Previous ISS Missions

    Information Pending

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    Experiment Description

    Research Overview

    Information Pending

    Description

    Information Pending

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    Applications

    Space Applications

    ISS night photography: The Cupola on board the ISS (International Space Station) provides a unique vantage point for remote sensing of the Earth. High resolution imagery of the night side of the Earth has great potential in many scientific disciplines and it is visually compelling.  Because a dedicated satellite is not foreseen in the near future, the most likely candidate suppliers of high resolution, global, nocturnal imagery is the crew on board the ISS. The NightPod device has been commissioned by ESA to assist the crew in such tasks: tracking visual targets on the earth and neutralising the effect of ISS motion, allowing for an increase in exposure time and therefore the quality of the nocturnal images.

    Earth Applications

    The imagery of the Earth at Night has a large number of potential applications, from the original motivation to build Nightpod, i.e. taking images of cities at night to create a map of the distribution of the population, to mapping fishing activities, light pollution and fires. These are only some of the applications that can benefit from a systematic collection of night imagery of the Earth at Night. The Nightpod concept is very basic and allows for the tracking mechanism to be used by a large number of sensors and instruments.

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    Operations

    Operational Requirements

    Information Pending

    Operational Protocols

    Information Pending

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    Results/More Information

    Information Pending

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    Related Websites

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    Imagery

    Information provided by the investigation team to the ISS Program Scientist's Office.
    If updates are needed to the summary please contact JSC-ISS-Program-Science-Group. For other general questions regarding space station research and technology, please feel free to call our help line at 281-244-6187 or e-mail at JSC-ISS-Research-Helpline.
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