Patent ID: 7460239

Claim:
A remote sensing instrument using optical aperture synthesis and comprising at least two independent remote sensing devices each comprising at least two light collecting means delivering light beams and having a selected field of view and a selected resolution, first recombination means for recombining interferometrically the light beams delivered by said two independent remote sensing devices and for delivering a final light beam associated with a resolution better than or equivalent to the lowest resolution of said independent remote sensing devices and/or a field of view less than or equal to the largest field of view of said devices and a main detector placed substantially in a focal plane of said final beam for delivering an image, wherein each remote sensing device has its own focal plane and its own second recombination means for combining interferometrically at least a portion of the light beams delivered by its light collecting means, and each remote sensing device comprises an auxiliary detector for collecting said portion of the beams recombined interferometrically by its second recombination means and for delivering an auxiliary image.