Remote mineralogy through multispectral imaging: the VIMS-V instrument

The Visible Infrared Mapping Spectrometer--Visible Channel (VIMS-V) has been designed to produce high resolution multispectral images, in the optical waveband, of different planetary bodies. VIMS-V, presently under test, has been developed by Officine Galileo on behalf of the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (Italian Space Agency) and will cover the spectral range from 300nm to 1050nm. This range will allow the detailed investigation of the mineralogy of Saturn satellites surfaces, searching for those components capable of affecting their evolution; studies of Saturn and Titan cloud structure and haze layers by identifying chemical components; searches for lighting and analysis their spectra. Light weight, thermal stability, and capability to operate with different mission scenarios have been the imposed design criteria of the instrument. Two further versions of VIMS-V are presently under study: one for a cometary mission and the other for a lunar detailed exploration mission.