Prisma: The Italian Hyperspectral Mission

PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa) is one the most important investments of Italian Space Agency (ASI) in the field of Optical Remote Sensing for Earth Observation. The PRISMA Space Segment consists of a single spacecraft embarking a state-of-the-art hyperspectral/panchromatic payload using pushbroom scanning technique. The PRISMA Ground Segment inlcudes the Fucino facilities for satellite/mission control and Matera CNM (Multimission National Center) systems, mainly devoted to data acquisition, products archive/delivery and user management. The IDHS facilty processes the payload data downloaded using the CNM X-Band antenna. The launch is scheduled in 2018 (VEGA Launcher) for a five years operational lifetime. This paper reports an overview of the mission and program development.