Calibration of MAJIS (Moons and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer): V. Validation with mineral samples and reference materials.

MAJIS (Moons and Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer) is the imaging spectrometer onboard ESA's JUICE (JUpiter and ICy Moons Explorer) spacecraft that operates in the visible and near/mid-infrared between 0.5 and 5.54 μm. Before the launch of JUICE in April 2023, MAJIS underwent a comprehensive on-ground calibration campaign in between August and September 2021 in the IAS (Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Saclay) calibration facilities. Among all the operations, calibration sequences using a set of natural mineral samples and synthetic reference materials were acquired in order to characterize MAJIS performances under conditions assumed to be close to certain future observation configurations. Here, we analyze these calibration measurements using comparison with laboratory reference spectra to quantify MAJIS spectral and spatial performances while observing these solid surfaces. We first assess the MAJIS absolute spectral calibration of the visible and near-infrared channel covering half of the wavelength range. We then quantify spectral performances in terms of global spectral slopes, band detection, band shape, and depth retrievals, over most of the spectral range using six mineral samples. We conclude that for most configurations, the MAJIS instrument demonstrates excellent spectral performances compliant with the requirements. MAJIS can, however, be affected by stray light contributions, notably for wavelengths lower than about 1.2 μm, and some performances of the instrument may then be significantly impacted depending on viewing conditions. In particular, we have identified cases of spectral contrast reduction up to 40%, absolute spectral shifts up to 2-3 nm, and spectral smile variability by +/1 nm. Finally, we used the MAJIS internal scanning mirror to test its ability to construct hyperspectral images of a few samples: we present the first band depth maps derived with MAJIS while observing a serpentine/carbonate sample, as well as an evaluation of MAJIS spatial point spread function. Overall, the analysis of MAJIS behavior while observing samples confirms most MAJIS expected performance requirements, while revealing subtle spectral perturbations that may be related to stray light and viewing conditions. These differences will be further investigated in-flight during the cruise, with a solar reflected target such as the Moon, as well as Jupiter before the JUICE orbital insertion.

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© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.