The technological innovations embodied in the instrument described in this paper can significantly improve the performance of black bodies and their associated thermometry and electronics as used for on-board calibration in many space-borne infrared radiometer instruments, whilst simultaneously reducing mass and power requirements. The same innovations can provide similar advantages for terrestrial based calibrations for both pre-flight and validation activities.
The Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- and Helio-Studies (TRUTHS) mission offers a novel approach to the provision of key scientific data wtih unprecedented radiometric accuracy for Earth Observation (EO) and solar studies, which will also establish well-calibrated reference targets/standards to support other SI missions. This paper will present the TRUTHS mission and its objectives. TRUTHS will be the first satellite mission to calibrate its instrumentation directly to SI in orbit, overcoming the usual uncertainties associated with drifts of sensor gain and spectral shape by using an electrical rather than an optical standard as the basis of its calibration. The range of instruments flown as part of the payload will also proivde accurate input data to improve atmospheric radiative transfer codes by anchoring boundary conditions, through simultaneous measurements of aerosols, particulates and radiances at various heights. Therefore, TRUTHS will significantly improve the performance and accuracy of Earth observation misison with broad global or operational aims, as well as more dedicated missions. The providision of reference standards will also improve synergy between missions by reducing errors due to different calibration biases and offer cost reductions for future missions by reducing the demands for on-board calibration systems. Such improvements are important for the future success of strategies such as Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and the implementation and monitoring of international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol. TRUTHS will achieve these aims by measuring the geophysical variables of solar and lunar irradiance, together with both polarized and un-polarized spectral radiance of the Moon, and the Earth and its atmosphere.
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