Development of innovative methodologies for the verification and validation of scientific cameras performance for space missions - 2026_CDR_DAER_2

This research activity focuses on developing innovative methodologies and techniques for verifying and validating scientific cameras and their acquisition chains. It will define experimental procedures, quantitative metrics, and models to characterize optical, radiometric, and functional performance, assess the quality and reliability of payload science data, and quantify uncertainties associated with the instrumentation, observation scenarios, and data-processing chain.The activities will include hardware-in-the-loop campaigns at optical facilities, testing the camera, electronics, and acquisition chain with controlled sources and scenarios, and model-in-the-loop campaigns based on synthetic images generated through physically based rendering. The models will reproduce illumination, viewing geometry, noise, and operational conditions, enabling correlation between simulated and experimental results. The research will be primarily applied to the LUMIO mission.