DESCRIPTION |
The instrument overview provided here is the abstract from
[MALINETAL2007]; for more details, see that paper.
Instrument Overview
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The Context Camera (CTX) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
is a Facility Instrument (i.e., government-furnished equipment
operated by a science team not responsible for design and
fabrication) designed, built, and operated by Malin Space Science
Systems and the MRO Mars Color Imager team (MARCI). CTX will (1)
provide context images for data acquired by other MRO instruments,
(2) observe features of interest to NASA's Mars Exploration
Program (e.g., candidate landing sites), and (3) conduct a
scientific investigation, led by the MARCI team, of geologic,
geomorphic, and meteorological processes on Mars. CTX consists of
a digital electronics assembly; a 350 mm f/3.25 Schmidt-type
telescope of catadioptric optical design with a 5.7-degree fiels
of view, providing a ~30-km wide swath from ~290 km altitude; and
a 5000-element CCD with a band pass of 500-700 nm and 7 micron
pixels, giving ~6 m/pixel spatial resolution from MRO's nearly
circular, nearly polar mapping orbit. Raw data are transferred to
the MRO spacecraft flight computer for processing (e.g., data
compression) before transmission to Earth. The ground data system
and operations are based on 9 years of Mars Global Surveyor Mars
Orbiter Camera on-orbit experience. CTX has been allocated 12
percent of the total MRO data return, or about >= 3 terabits for
the nominal mission. This data volume would cover ~9 percent of
Mars at 6 m/pixel, but overlapping images (for stereo, mosaics,
and observation of changes and meteorological events) will reduce
this area. CTX acquired its first (instrument checkout) images of
Mars on 24 March 2006.
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REFERENCES |
Malin, M. C., J.F. Bell III, B.A. Cantor, M.A. Caplinger, W.M. Calvin,
R.T. Clancy, K.S. Edgett, L. Edwards, R.M. Haberle, P.B. James, S.W. Lee,
M.A. Ravine, P.C. Thomas, and M.J. Wolff (2007), Context Camera
Investigation on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, J. Geophys. Res.,
112, E05S04, doi:10.1029/2006JE002808.
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