The technology will detect an obscure yet ubiquitous form of radiation known as terahertz waves, also called T-rays. Similar cameras are also expected to have applications in airport security and medicine.
One camera, already built by a company called QinetiQ and working in so-called millimetric waves, has demonstrated the ability to eerily peer through clothes and reveal a concealed weapon -- as well as much of a person's body. The image shows far more detail than an infrared camera, which detects heat.
Terahertz radiation is similar to but more revealing than what the QinetiQ camera detects. Scientists say T-rays are emitted by pretty much everything. They come from "the human hand, an envelope, someone with clothes on or a comet," says Geoff McBride, who works on Star Tiger, the British project. It is supported by the European Space Agency.
In a telephone interview, McBride told SPACE.com that a space-based T-ray imager could be deployed in two years if funding is made available. The first objective might be to study Earth's atmosphere, he said.
Similar but less sensitive systems are currently used on satellites to measure sea surface temperatures.
"Unlike light, terahertz waves are able to propagate through cloud and smoke, providing a powerful advantage for certain remote-sensing measurements," according to Star Tiger officials. "From a practical aspect they are also able to pass through windows, paper, clothing and in certain instances even walls."
Eventually, a T-ray imager could be deployed to investigate a comet's tail, McBride said.
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