Mini-EUSO onboard of the ISS for UV terrestrial and cosmic emission detection: space qualification and calibration

Abstract

Abstract The Mini-EUSO (Multi-wavelenght Imaging New Instrument - Extreme Universe Space Observatory) telescope is designed to observe the UV emission of the Earth from the vantage point of the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth orbit. Mini-EUSO will map the Earth in the UV range (300 - 400 nm) offering the opportunity to study a variety of atmospheric events such as Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) and meteors, as well as searching for Strange Quark Matter (SQM) and bioluminescence. The instrument comprises a compact telescope with a large field of view (44°), based on an optical system employing two Fresnel lenses for light collection, focused onto an array of 36 multi-anode photomultiplier tubes. The resulting signal is converted into digital, processed and stored via the electronics subsystems onboard. In addition to the main UV detector, Mini-EUSO contains two ancillary cameras for complementary measurements in the near infrared (1500 - 1600 nm) and visible (400 - 780 nm) range and also a SiPM (Silicon PhotoMultiplier) array which will increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of this ultrafast imaging sensor.