Examples of Micos Heritage
MTG
- Micos developed four FCI blackbody flight units (delivered from 2018 to 2022) and two IRS blackbody flight units (delivered in 2021 and 2023).
- In support of the AIT activities of the MTG blackbodies, Micos successfully developed and validated unique test facilities for radiometric testing and for PRT calibration.
FORUM
- For the mission FORUM, Micos is responsible since Phase A of the Performance Engineering (spectral and radiometric), instrument simulator and L1 algorithms, and blackbodies (BBU & SPBB). The working wavelength range is 6.25 to 100 µm.
- Micos is responsible for design and AIT of BBU & SPBB, based on heritage of MTG blackbodies.
- BBU PFM and SPBB PFM successfully delivered.
- Performance Engineering from Phase A, mainly dedicated to performance engineering for the radiometric and thermal aspects.
- Support for the test definition and data processing.
- Full instrument simulator and L1 processor development, combined with fully validated breadboard to be used as base for on-ground E2E simulator and operational L1 (this includes the full ATBDs for the FSI and FEI instrument simulators, the L1 processor, and offline tools).
Sentinel 5 CAS (Calibration Subunit)
- Calibration and Obturation mechanism (CAS) for Sentinel 5 on MetOp.
- System and optical engineering and AIV responsible.
- 3 CAS units covering UV1-SWIR and UV2VIS-NIR channels.
- Tight thermal and layout requirements due to satellite attribution constraints.
- Volume diffuser for sun irradiance calibration.
- Qualification of DFB lasers for on-board spectral calibration.
- All flight units delivered.
CO2M MAP FCU
- Flight Calibration Unit (FCU). Scope: To develop and produce four identical FCUs each for 3 Flight Sets (PFM, FM2 and FM3) for the CO2M mission.
- Each unit contains a calibration wheel with two Diffusers to calibrate the MAP instrument.
- Drive is through a 1:8 gearbox and positional feedback through an optical encoder.
- First units delivered.
PROBA 3 FLLS-OHU
- Optical head of the longitudinal and lateral distance measuring instrument (FLLS)
- PFM fully qualified.
- PFM hardware delivered to customer.
- PFM mounted on to Proba 3 spacecraft.
- Launched on 5 December 2024 by ISRO’s PSLV-C59.
FLORIS / FLEX Telescope
- Fluorescence Explorer mission (FLEX).
- Dioptric design, consists of 5 lenses.
- Field of view in X direction is +/- 1.2degree and in Y direction is +/- 5.4degrees. Working wavelength range: 500 – 780 nm.
- This telescope is used in spectroscopy analysis.
CLPS-LIMS
- Laser Ablation Ionization Mass Spectrometer (LIMS) for CLPS and ARTEMIS Missions
- MCS develops the OSS (Optical Sub System).
- The laser beam is concentrated by the optical subsystem onto the soil sample.
- This releases ions that can be detected at the detector.
- Allows determination of the soil chemical composition in real time.
CAIRT
- Phase 0 for an imaging spectrometer.
- Phase 0 and Phase A completed.
- Performance engineering and design with the system architect.
- In-flight processing optimization for data volume.
- Spectral calibration with method similar to the one created by Micos for MTG-IRS and FORUM.
- Ground segment.
MTG-IRS Spectral Calibration
- First space imaging FTS instrument (MTG-IRS) and first FTS instrument with spectral calibration at L1 level
- Fully new calibration approach proposed and demonstrated (sub-ppm accuracy)
- Performance higher than expected allow compensating part of instrument daily variations
SoSpIM
- Solar Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SoSpIM).
- Will launch on Japanese SOLAR-C Mission.
- SoSpIM is being developed by PMOD in Davos CH.
- MCS responsible for the Protection Covers for the Instrument. The instrument has 6 covers.
REIM
- Micos designed and developed re-imager and light sources for the calibration OGSE for METimage instrument to be flown on the MetOp-SG satellite A series.
- Micos supplied the sources assembly, comprising a motorized target, various light sources (including the EGSE and SW) required for the performance assessment of METimage in vacuum.
- Micos successfully completed the AIT, calibration, delivery and commissioning of REIM & COGSE in 2021.
- The METimage instrument is scheduled for launch in August 2025 as part of the Metop Second Generation A1 satellite (Metop-SGA1).
3MI-Calibration
- MGSE & EGSE to support the 3MI-Calibration activities at CSL.
- Design and analysis phase (2016-2019), AIT period (2019-2020).
- Functionality Test, Improvements & Updates - while in parallel running the PFM campaign (2020-2022).
- 1 x MGSE unit was delivered consisting of a gantry and turret providing 5–axis movements.
- 1 x EGSE unit was delivered providing complete control (local & remote) of the EGSE.
- The 3MI (Multi-Viewing, Multi-Channel, Multi-Polarisation Imager) instrument is scheduled for launch in August 2025 as part of the Metop Second Generation A1 satellite (Metop-SGA1).
Sentinel 4 OGSE
- Micos was responsible for the alignment OGSE of the Sentinel 4 instrument (cleanroom environment and in close proximity of the flight hardware).
- The system comprises a collimator module for the illumination of the instrument. The collimator, based on four aspherical mirror design, has a pupil of 80 mm and covers ±2.2° elevation and ±0.5° azimuth.
- The collimator module also comprises a series of light sources for the characterisation and alignment of Sentinel 4, as white light sources, narrow linewidth sources and multispectral sources for the spectral characterisation of the S4 instrument.
- The system is completed by two motorised turrets, one tailored for the UV-VIS channel and one for the NIR channel. Each turret is equipped with a self-centering Shack Hartmann instrument and a CCD.
- S4 AIT OGSE was successfully delivered and commissioned at Airbus in 2020.
- The Sentinel-4 UVN instrument successfully launched on the MTG-S1 satellite on July 1, 2025.
LABB
- LABB: Large Area Flat High-Performance On-Board Black-Bodies (400 mm x 400 mm).
- Micos designed and built a prototype version of LABB and tested it to verify its performance against the requirements.
- LABB has successfully completed assembly, integration, thermal sensors calibration and TVCA cycling. The final step of AIT is performance test are also completed.
Example of Micos R&D Heritage
Miniaturized Spectrometer
- Waveguide spectrometer based on Lippman interferogram (FTS approach).
- TRP (MHiPIS with ESA, CSEM, EPFL).
- Nanoantennas investigation study (NAOMI with Empa, EPFL).
- Next generation with graphene detectors (MAGDA with Empa).
- Investigation of alternative interferogram scanning methods to improve manufacturability (SWWIS with ETH).
- PhD (NGIS with ESA, EPFL).
Press Releases co-authored by Micos
- EE-11 candidate mission CAIRT: payload concepts architecture, design approach, and challenges ( SPIE International Conference on Space Optics, 2024)
- CCSDS 123 Compression Applied to Interferograms: Demonstration of a High-Performance On-Board Data Compression Pipeline for the CAIRT Earth Explorer 11 Candidate (2025 European Data Handling & Data Processing Conference (EDHPC))
- EE-11 candidate mission CAIRT: an overview of the Phase 0 and A System studies (SPIE Environmental Remote Sensing, 2025)
- Concept, absolute calibration, and validation of a new benchtop laser imaging polar nephelometer (Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2023)
- Information content and aerosol property retrieval potential for different types of in situ polar nephelometer data (Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 2022)
- Multichannel Smart Slit Assembly for Spectroscopy Based on Arrays of Variable Optical MEMS Attenuators (2022 IEEE 35th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Conference (MEMS))
- Two-Color Interferometry in the Mid-Infrared based on Quantum Cascade Lasers for Absolute Distance Measurement with Nanometer-Scale Precision (The European Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics 2021)
- Broadband MEMS Shutter Based Variable Optical Attenuator (International Symposium on Optomechatronic Technology 2021)
- The infrared Fourier transform spectrometer and the infrared imager instrument concepts for the FORUM mission, ESA's 9th Earth Explorer (SPIE Environmental Remote Sensing, 2020)
- SpectroCube: a European 6U nanosatellite spectroscopy platform for astrobiology and astrochemistry (Acta Astroautica 2020)
- An integrated broadband spectrometer on thin-film lithium niobate (Nature Photonics, 2019)
- Integrated Waveguide Fourier Transform Spectrometer on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (2019 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and European Quantum Electronics Conference)
- Integrated Electro-Optic Spectrometers on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (2019 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO))
- Lippmann waveguide spectrometer with enhanced throughput and bandwidth for space and commercial use (Optics Express, 2018)
- Dustcube, a nanosatellite mission to binary asteroid 65803 Didymos as part of the ESA AIM Mission (Advances in Space Research, 2018)
- Optical In-Situ Monitor – A Step towards European Space-Based Debris Observations (5th European conference on space debris, 2017)
- Optical properties of waveguide-coupled nanowires for sub-wavelength detection in microspectrometer applications (Journal of Optics, 2015)
DOI 10.1088/2040-8978/17/2/025801
- Standing wave integrated Fourier transform spectrometer for imaging spectrometry in the near infrared (Imaging Spectrometry, 2015)
- On-chip NIR optical spectrometer based on polymeric waveguide and metallic nano-structures (Moems And Miniaturized Systems, 2014)
- Imaging FTS for Space Applications (Fourier Transform Spectroscopy, 2013)
- Assembly technique for miniaturized optical devices: towards space qualification (SPIE International Conference on Space Optics, 2012)
