In-flight Calibration and Data Reduction for the WISPR Instrument On Board the PSP Mission

We present the calibration status and data reduction methodology for the Wide Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) on board the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission. In particular, we describe the process for converting a raw image, measured in digital numbers (DN), to a calibrated image, measured in mean solar brightness (MSB). We also discuss details of the on board image processing including bias removal, the linearity of the electronics, pointing, geometric distortion, and photometric calibration using stellar measurements, and the characterization of vignetting and other instrumental artifacts. The analysis presented here is based on data from the first four WISPR orbits. As the PSP perihelia get progressively closer to the Sun and the WISPR concept of operation evolves to deal with the brighter scene, the calibration will likely need to be updated. Aging of the optics and the possibility of detector degradation may also occur. Hence, we consider the WISPR calibration as work in progress with updates reported as necessary.

Automated summary

The calibration status and data reduction methodology for WISPR on PSP mission involve converting raw images from DN to MSB, discussing details of image processing, and considering updates as PSP perihelia get closer to the Sun.