CROSSEYE: a CubeSat LEO constellation
for plastic litter detection in open sea
Francesca Pelliccia, Raffaele Minichini, Maria Salvato, Salvatore Barone, Salvatore Dario dell’Aquila, Vincenzo Esposito, MarcoMadonna, Andrea Mazzeo, Ilaria Salerno, Antimo Verde, Marco Grasso, Antonio Gigantino, Alfredo Renga

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Introduction

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INTRODUCTION

04 Sept 2023

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Introduction
Plastic detection from space- Multi-spectral imagery- Hyperspectral sensing- GNSS reflectometry- SAR imagery✓ Good capabilities
demonstrated in this field✓ Would allow global
monitoring of plastic litter atsea

 No operational system for
global monitoring anddetection of plastics with
sufficient temporal andspatial coverage Robust approaches for SARbased plastic detection at
sea not available due to thelack of assessed datasets totrain and test newprocedures on large scales

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Introduction
Plastic detection from space- Multi-spectral imagery- SAR imagery✓ Good capabilities
demonstrated in this field✓ Would allow global
monitoring of plastic litter at
sea

CROSSEYE(Combined in pendulum Remote Observation cubeSat System for icEYE) mission

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Mission Objectives
OB1:• Macroplastic detection inopen sea through EO
acquisitions
OB2:• EO/SAR - based innovative
measurement principle
validation
OB3:• Development of a databaseof collected plastic data

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Key Parameters
OB1:• Macroplastic detection inopen sea through EO
acquisitions
OB2:• EO/SAR - based innovative
measurement principle
validation
OB3:• Development of a databaseof collected plastic data

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KP1:

• 20 m spatial resolution
KP2:• 6 bands (NDVI, FDI, FAI)
KP3:

• Simultaneous acquisitions(time lag +/- 4 h)

8Mission Concept
AI detection of marine litter in SAR images – Measurement principle

EOimages
imagesEO

FDI and NDVI
computation

PLASTIC MAPS=GROUND TRUTH

Comparison

AITRAINING

SAR images

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Mission Concept
AI detection of marine litter in SAR images – Measurement principle

EOimages
imagesEO

FDI and NDVI
computation

PLASTIC MAPS=GROUND TRUTH

Comparison

AI
TRAINING

SAR images

PENDULUM
FORMATION
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• Images over the same area• Limited temporal distance

10Pendulum

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11Safety distance• Δ𝑒 provides radial and cross-track separation• Δ𝜈 provides along-track separation (~ 16 Km)

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12Constellation
ICEYE

CROSSEYE

ΔΩ, Δ𝜈, Δ𝑒LTAN
10:00 PM | 1:15 AM | 9:30 PM
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ALTITUDE
490 ÷ 520 Km

INC
97.40 ÷ 97.55 °13

Ground Segment• 11 of 17 active Leaf Space ground stations
placed at middle latitudes• Link between the two missions at groundsegment level

CROSSEYE

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14PayloadPlastic detection requirements• 20 m minimum resolution• VNIR, SWIR bands to compute FDI, NDVI,
FAI indexes

6U CubeSat Standard compatibility• Mass and Power constraints

Custom electro-optical payload

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VNIR

SWIR

Focal length (mm)

400

400

Aperture (mm)

96.0

96.0

F/#

4.17

4.17

FOV across track (deg)

1.76

2.20

Swath width (km)

16.0

20.0

Ground sampling distance (m)

15.6

9.80

MTF @32.5 lin/mm

0.66

0.66

Number of pixel (H x V)

1024 x 25

2048 x 1Pixel size (μm)

12 x 127.5 x 7.5Number of bands

51Pixel depth (bits per pixel)

88Mass (kg)4.09

Volume (mm3)1.5 x 106 (< 2U)

Data rate (Mbps)

473

Power consumption (Standby-On) (W)

1.00 – 35.0

15Platform
Preliminary design shows the compatilibitywith a standard 6U CubeSat platform

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TOTAL MASS

10.9 kg

TOTAL AVERAGE POWERCONSUMPTION

7.82 W

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Mission Risks

Risk
PAY
FOR#1

Description
Custom payload not feasible or
integrable
Pendulum formation with ICEYE notreachedLI

253

4FOR#2Collision risk

15DATA

EO/SAR database building technique
not implementable

34FAILNot mature subsystems parts cause
unexpected failures

15MAN

Lack of handover, schedule delay, lossof information

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Conclusions➢ CROSSEYE platform design feasible integrating COTS components except for the payload➢ Design easily adaptable to other SAR-equipped platforms➢ Incremental strategy of CROSSEYE mission to widen the quantity and quality of collected data
➢ Capability to build a database tailored to fit the customer's demands (i.e., wildfire, coastalerosion, plastics)➢ Contribution to plastic litter detection from space, promoting sustainability and furthering theunderstanding of Earth's ecosystem.

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Conclusions

Thank you for the attention!
Q&A

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EO PLASTIC DETECTION

Satellite imagery showing plastic pollution off the coast of Scotland. Image by Lauren Biermann
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Mission Timeline
Mar-22

Jul-23 Nov-24 Apr-26

Aug-27Jan-29

May-30 Sep-31

MissionRequirements
Definition
Verification

Production
Utilization
Disposal

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