PICASSO

The mission

The Pico-Satellite for Atmospheric and Space Science Observations (PICASSO) was a 3U CubeSat mission aimed at demonstrating the ability of a low-cost nano-satellite to measure the ozone distribution in the stratosphere, the temperature profile up to the mesosphere, and the electron density in the ionosphere.

Platform: 3U CubeSat.
Payload: miniaturised multi-spectral imager for limb sounding of solar disk (VISION), multi-Needle Langmuir Probe.
Programme: General Support Technology Programme (GSTP).
Consortia: Belgian Institute of Space Aeronomy, VTT Finland and Clyde Space UK. 

Mission description

The PICASSO CubeSat embarked VISION (Visible Spectral Imager for Occultation and Nightglow), an innovative compact hyper-spectral imager exploiting new MEMS-based Fabry-Perot Interferometer technology. This technology allows the imager to operate over a variable spectral range with a 10 nm spectral resolution whilst remaining physically compact. Optimisation of the VISION design for the PICASSO mission was expected to result in stratospheric ozone measurements to 5% accuracy with a vertical resolution of 20 km after post-processing. The 3U CubeSat was originally planned to be launched with the QB50 constellation, however was eventually launched as a piggyback opportunity on the Vega launcher into Sun Synchronous Orbit. 

Mission status

Launch: September 2020 through VEGA's Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS).
Status: mission complete, re-entry in April 2024.