RedEye-1: a compact SWIR hyperspectral imager for observation of atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide

We present the development of our first prototype of a compact short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imager, RedEye-1, designed to observe and measure the concentrations of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. It operates in the spectral range of 1588 nm to 1673 nm with a nominal spectral resolution of 0.5 nm and has a total weight of approximately 1.8 kg. We outline the optical design of the instrument, including its fore-optics (telescope), and evaluate its performance using the OpticStudio ZEMAX software. In addition, we explain the spectral and radiometric calibration procedures and present the results. Our preliminary data reduction and analysis revealed a high quality SWIR image and a single path measurement of an atmospheric profile displaying the absorption lines of CH4 and CO2. (c) 2023 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement