The MIRORES drone design, awarded by the European Space Agency (ESA) Technology Transfer (TT) Competition, is a terrestrial compact adaptation (13 cm x 13 cm x 21 cm) of a larger space spectrometer (32 cm x 32 cm x 40 cm) initially designed for the Polish Lunar Mission and the ESA Lunar Mineralogy Mapper.
This drone-mounted spectrometer employs far-infrared spectrometry to detect copper ores, such as as pyrite and chalcopyrite or iron-titanium ores such as ilmenite, impossible to measure with near- or mid-infrared. MIRORES Earth operates in both its basic vertical geometry and horizontal geometry to support mining operations in open-pit mines. By transferring cutting-edge technology from lunar exploration to terrestrial applications, MIRORES Earth provides high-resolution data (5-10 cm) crucial for mineral prospecting in challenging environments such as polar regions, mountainous areas, and deserts.