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MicroCarb is a space mission designed to monitor the CO2 fluxes at the earth surface in order to better understand exchanges between atmosphere, oceans and vegetation. The specificity of Microcarb is its capacity to measure very precisely the CO2 atmospheric concentration (better than 1ppm) using a microsatellite (180kg). The MicroCarb mission is developed by the French Space Agency CNES through a funding from French Research Agency ANR and with participations from European Union and UK Space Agency. The Microcarb payload is composed of a passive Short Wave InfraRed spectrometer and a visible imager. The innovative concept of the spectrometer allows to acquire 4 narrow bands (0.76μm, 1.27μm, 1.61μm, 2.04μm) on a same detector thanks to the use of an echelle grating and a split-pupil telescope. The performances required for the instrument are very stringent in terms of spectral resolution (R~25000), Instrument Spectral Response Function (ISRF) knowledge (<1%), radiometry and polarization’s sensitivity (~ 0.3%). To achieve such high performances, on ground and in flight spectrometer calibration is a key point for the success of the mission. The payload is developed by Airbus Defence and Space (ADS) France and the assembly phase is now almost complete. First performance results in ambient conditions were obtained with a calibration detector and were in line with the expected values. The instrument activities will continue with the mechanical qualification and Thermal VACuum (TVAC) tests during which all the instrument performances will be measured. Delivery of the instrument is scheduled today at autumn 2022 for further integration on platform. This paper will focus on the technical overview of the instrument and on its critical performances. Then we will present the calibration philosophy and the first tests results.
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