MANTIS, a 12U Smallsat Mission Taking Advantage of Super-Resolution and Artificial Intelligence for High-Resolution Imagery

The successful launch of the MANTIS mission, on November 11th 2023, was one of the key milestones of this three year long development. MANTIS is a commercial Earth Observation mission targeting the energy and mining industries whose resources are usually found in remote and hostile regions and that require dedicated and high resolution monitoring. The mission is part of the UKSA supported ESA-InCubed programme which stimulates innovation in industry by co-funding industry-initiated projects. The consortium is led by Open Cosmos and includes SATLANTIS as payload provider and Ubotica and Ingeniars as suppliers of the onboard AI capabilities.\nThe space segment is based on a newly designed 12U Cubesat, operating from a 525km-SSO orbit. The spacecraft in its final configuration weights 14.5 kg and delivers 13km-swath images with a native GSD of 3.5m in 4 bands (RGB and NIR). One of the peculiarities of the SATLANTIS iSIM90 is its binocular configuration that allows for fast image acquisition and the application of their proprietary UHR algorithm that enhances the GSD to 2.2/3m in the final super-resolved image. To complete the payload architecture, an onboard AI accelerator applies a cloud detection algorithm able to automatically discard cloudy images enhancing the overall mission efficiency.\nThe satellite is operated with an S-band link and downloads the images through an X-band downlink to ground stations located at Svalbard and TrollSat, Antarctica.. The images are stored and processed within Open Cosmos data platform called DataCosmos. The mission has now successfully completed the In Orbit Commissioning Review (IOCR) and is currently calibrating the payload chain. More than 500 GB of data has already been downloaded since the end of Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP). MANTIS will start the operational phase in H2 2024.\nThis paper will briefly introduce the programmatic background, purpose, consortium and development of the MANTIS mission including the technological advancements that are not only related to the payload chain but also to the Earth Observation tailoring of the platform design and its advancements in terms of EPS, OBDH and high speed data link implementation.\nFocus of the paper will be the results of LEOP together with the IOCR since launch and initial results regarding the mission compliance with its user requirements. Examples of the images captured, related data processing activities and associated data products will be shown to provide a summary of the current system capabilities, including its initial performances.\nA conclusive section will elaborate on the exploitation for different application domains such as energy, mining, infrastructure or agriculture monitoring.