Sensor · Spaceborne

HAMLET Spectral Imager

HAMLET is a hyperspectral imager for ESA's RAMSES Apophis mission, based on cosine HyperScout heritage and adding a SWIR channel for asteroid composition observations.

Sensor

HAMLET (HyperScout for Apophis MultispectraL Exploration and Taxonomy) is a two-channel spectral imager under development by cosine Italia for the European Space Agency's RAMSES mission to asteroid Apophis. The instrument extends the cosine HyperScout heritage with a shortwave infrared (SWIR) channel: Channel 1 covers 650-960 nm in the visible and near-infrared region and Channel 2 covers 960-1500 nm (SWIR), giving a combined range of 650-1500 nm optimised for asteroid mineralogy including hydroxyl absorption features near 1.4 um. High-resolution complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) detectors are used in each channel.^[1]

A Preliminary Design Review was held by cosine Italia in 2025.^[2] cosine Italia has since reached the Critical Design Review milestone for the HAMLET spectral imager.^[3] HAMLET is designed to characterise the composition of Apophis ahead of and during the 2029 Earth close approach. Launch is targeted for April 2028.^[1]^[2]

Operator pricing

Pricing not publicly listed by operator

Supply chain position

carried by RAMSES

Methods this sensor implements

Demonstrated

None on record.

Capable, undemonstrated

Imaging spectroscopy retrieval
HAMLET two-channel VNIR+SWIR imager for asteroid mineralogy classification
Spectral-library matching
HAMLET spectral library matching for olivine/pyroxene/hydroxyl features 650-1500nm

Topics this relates to

Biodiversity and habitat Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)well suited

Crop-type mapping Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)well suited

Geology and geohazards Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)well suited

Mineral exploration Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)well suited

Pest and disease detection Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)well suited

Coastal water quality Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)adequate

Drought Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)adequate

Forest structure and biomass Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)adequate

Land cover change Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)adequate

Coastal erosion Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)marginal

Harmful algal blooms Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)marginal

Illegal construction Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)marginal

Solar energy siting and monitoring Imaging spectroscopy retrieval(capable)marginal

Sources

[1]HAMLET abstract, EPSC-DPS 2025peer reviewed2026-06-11
[2]cosine Italia hosts PDR for HAMLET Spectral Imager, cosine.euoperator press2026-06-11
[3]HAMLET imager development update, cosineoperator press2026-10-19
[4]Ramses spacecraft, Wikipediacommunity2026-06-11

Cite https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/hamlet-spectral-imager Markdown twin → Field definitions → Suggest a correction →

How to cite this page

Plain text

HAMLET Spectral Imager. EO-Atlas, SpectraWorks B.V. https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/hamlet-spectral-imager (CC BY 4.0)

BibTeX

@misc{eoatlas:products:sensor:hamlet-spectral-imager,
  title = {HAMLET Spectral Imager},
  author = {{EO-Atlas}},
  publisher = {SpectraWorks B.V.},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
  url = {https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/hamlet-spectral-imager}
}