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This photograph shows the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter Color Imager, a high resolution camera that will be flown aboard a NASA orbiter in 1998. The camera will be built by Dr. Michael Malin of Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., San Diego, and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. This tiny instrument consists of two cameras with unique optics and identical focal plane assemblies, data acquisition system electronics and power supplies. The wide-angle camera will acquire daily weather maps of Mars with a surface resolution of 0.8 kilometers up to 7.2 kilometers (0.5 mile to 4.5 miles). The camera produces these maps in five spectral bands, including two ultraviolet bands that will characterize atmospheric ozone and provide global maps of other atmospheric phenomena such as clouds, hazes, dust storms and the polar hood. The medium-angle camera will be used to study selected areas of Mars with a resolution of 40 meters (131 feet) and observe alterations in the planet's surface over time due to changing atmospheric conditions and winds. Ten spectral channels will provide the ability to discriminate both atmospheric and surface features on the basis of composition. The Mars '98 Orbiter mission is tentatively scheduled for launch aboard a Med- Lite expendable launch vehicle in December 1998. The mission will be managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. #####
Description
This photograph shows the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter Color Imager, a high resolution camera that will be flown aboard a NASA orbiter in 1998. The camera will be built by Dr. Michael Malin of Malin Space Science Systems, Inc., San Diego, and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. This tiny instrument consists of two cameras with unique optics and identical focal plane assemblies, data acquisition system electronics and power supplies. The wide-angle camera will acquire daily weather maps of Mars with a surface resolution of 0.8 kilometers up to 7.2 kilometers (0.5 mile to 4.5 miles). The camera produces these maps in five spectral bands, including two ultraviolet bands that will characterize atmospheric ozone and provide global maps of other atmospheric phenomena such as clouds, hazes, dust storms and the polar hood. The medium-angle camera will be used to study selected areas of Mars with a resolution of 40 meters (131 feet) and observe alterations in the planet's surface over time due to changing atmospheric conditions and winds. Ten spectral channels will provide the ability to discriminate both atmospheric and surface features on the basis of composition. The Mars '98 Orbiter mission is tentatively scheduled for launch aboard a Med- Lite expendable launch vehicle in December 1998. The mission will be managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. #####
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