Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Cubesat On-board processing Validation Experiment (COVE) is a partnership between JPL and the University of Michigan. The primary objective of COVE is to demonstrate an on-board processing system to optimize the data processing and instrument design of a multi-angle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (MSPI) for the ACE Decadal Survey mission which will achieve a two-orders of magnitude reduction in data rate. COVE also looks to get spaceborne technology validation of the Xilinx Virtex-5QV rad-hard-by-design (RHBD) FPGA and MSPI on-board processing polarimetry algorithm to advance the TRL for MSPI camera development and the ACE mission.
The MSPI consists of 8-fixed and 1-gimballed camera, and is used to measure cloud and aerosol properties. The goal of the MSPI is to acquire accurate degree of linear polarization (DOLP) imagery. COVE also serves as a bridge between NASA and the Universitym, which gives students and faculty the opportunity to engage in spaceborne technology validation. The OBP algorithm will be implemented on the Xilinx Virtex-5 FXT FPGA
