The Engineering Model for the multi spectral imager of the EarthCARE spacecraft

The Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) will be flown on board the EarthCARE spacecraft, under development by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The fundamental objective of the EarthCARE mission is improving the understanding of the processes involving clouds, aerosols and radiation in the Earth's atmosphere. In addition to the MSI instrument, a Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR), an Atmospheric Lidar (ATLID), and a Broadband Radiometer (BBR) complete the payload of the EarthCARE satellite. By acquiring images of the clouds and aerosol distribution, the MSI instrument will provide important contextual information in support of the radar and lidar geophysical retrievals. The MSI development philosophy is based on the early development of an Engineering Confidence Model (ECM) and the subsequent development of a Proto-flight Model, the model to be launched on-board the EarthCARE satellite. This paper provides an overview of the MSI instrument and its development approach. A description of the ECM and its verification program is also provided. © 2012 SPIE.