ESA GNC Conference Papers Repository

Image sensors are used more and more in space missions, and most future exploration missions will benefit from cameras to perform different tasks, in particular navigation. We focus on one of the most important (and most difficult) aspects of image processing (IP) development: validation for dedicated missions. Although many IP solutions have been proposed, it can be difficult to evaluate their true performance before the actual mission. We study the use of both image simulators and real images for IP validation. We focus on the needs of the ESA project Innovative Autonomous Navigation Technologies (IANT) which emphasizes not only fast and efficient IP, but also on validating the performance for the targeted missions.