Mars surface context cameras past, present, and future
Abstract
Mars has been the focus of robotic space exploration since the 1960s, in which time there have been over 40 missions, some successful, some not. Camera systems have been a core component of all instrument payloads sent to the Martian surface, harnessing some combination of monochrome, color, multispectral, and stereo imagery. Together, these datasets provide the geological context to a mission, which over the decades has included the characterization and spatial mapping of geological units and associated stratigraphy, charting active surface processes such as dust devils and water ice sublimation, and imaging the robotic manipulation of samples via scoops (Viking), drills (Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity), and grinders (Mars Exploration Rovers). Through the decades, science context imaging has remained an integral part of increasingly advanced analytical payloads, with continual advances in spatial and spectral resolution, radiometric and geometric calibration, and image analysis techniques. Mars context camera design has encompassed major technological shifts, from single photomultiplier tube detectors to megapixel charged-couple-devices, and from multichannel to Bayer filter color imaging. Here we review the technological capability and evolution of science context imaging instrumentation resulting from successful surface missions to Mars, and those currently in development for planned future missions.
Citation
Gunn , M D & Cousins , C R 2016 , ' Mars surface context cameras past, present, and future ' , Earth and Space Science , vol. 3 , no. 4 , pp. 144-162 . https://doi.org/10.1002/2016EA000166
Publication
Earth and Space Science
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2333-5084Type
Journal item
Rights
© 2016, The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Description
Matthew Gunn and Claire Cousins are Co-Investigators on the European Space Agency ExoMars Panoramic Camera instrument (PI Andrew Coates; MSSL/University College London, London, United Kingdom). C Cousins is funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh on a Personal Research Fellowship. Matthew Gunn acknowledges UK Space Agency grants ST/L001454/1, ST/N003349/1 and ST/N006410/1.Collections
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