most distinctive and strongest spectral signature in the LWIR regions. Hyperspectral remote sensing of minerals is well developed. Many minerals can be identified from airborne images, and their relation to the presence of valuable minerals, such as gold and diamonds, is well understood. Currently, progress is towards understanding the relationship between oil and gas leakages from pipelines and natural wells, and their effects on the vegetation and the spectral signatures. Recent work includes the PhD dissertations of Werff and Noomen. Surveillance Hyperspectral surveillance is the implementation of hyperspectral scanning technology for surveillance purposes. Hyperspectral imaging is particularly useful in military surveillance because of countermeasures that military entities now take to avoid airborne surveillance. The idea that drives hyperspectral surveillance is that hyperspectral scanning draws information from such a large portion of the light spectrum that any given object should have a unique spectral signature in at least a few of the many bands that are scanned. The SEALs from NSWDG who killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011 used this technology while conducting the raid (Operation Neptune's Spear) on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Hyperspectral imaging has also shown potential to be used in facial recognition purposes. Facial recognition algorithms using hyperspectral imaging have been shown to perform better than algorithms using traditional imaging. Traditionally, commercially available thermal infrared hyperspectral imaging systems have needed liquid nitrogen or helium cooling, which has made them impractical for most surveillance applications. In 2010, Specim introduced a thermal infrared hyperspectral camera that can be used for outdoor surveillance and UAV applications without an external light source such as the sun or the moon. Astronomy In astronomy, hyperspectral imaging is used to determine a spatially-resolved spectral image. Since a spectrum is an important diagnostic, having a spectrum for each pixel allows more science cases to be addressed. In astronomy, this technique is commonly referred to as integral field spectroscopy, and examples of this technique include FLAMES and SINFONI on the Very Large Telescope, but also the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on Chandra X-ray Observatory uses this technique. Chemical imaging Soldiers can be exposed to a wide variety of chemical hazards. These threats are mostly invisible but detectable by hyperspectral imaging technology. The Telops Hyper-Cam, introduced in 2005, has demonstrated this at distances up to 5 km. Environment Most countries require continuous monitoring of emissions produced by coal and oil-fired power plants, municipal and