PTB’s facility: vacuum chamber hosting the new reference blackbody

To operate, the spectrometer that will fly on the European Space Agency’s upcoming FORUM mission needs a reference source – a device that will be used to calibrate the instrument to make sure its measurements remain as accurate as possible while in space.

For a spectrometer of this kind, this reference source is a ‘blackbody’ – a physical object that, in theory, absorbs all electromagnetic radiation and reflects none. The National Institute of Germany (PTB) have developed a reference blackbody that allowed them to calibrate the blackbody which will actually fly on FORUM.

Here, PTB’s reference blackbody is shown in a measuring facility.

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[Image description: The photo shows the interior of a large cylindrical tunnel-like metallic chamber. The chamber walls are lined with evenly spaced holes and mounting points. Inside the chamber is a setup consisting of two silvery cylinders, one positioned horizontally in the forefront and one vertically in the background. At the other end of the cylindrical chamber, there is an individual dressed in a white lab coat, wearing blue gloves, mask, and a hair cover, working on the setup. Along the walls of the chamber, orange cables are visible.]