Pancam

753, 535, and 432 nanometers light wavelengths (e.g. approximately true color) of Solander point as seen overlooking Botany bay.[1]
Panoramic Camera (Pancam)

PanCam is two electronic stereo cameras on Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.[2] It can view different wavelengths of light and is mounted beside two NavCams.[2]

According to Cornell University it can work with Mini-TES to analyze surroundings.[2]

Optics

The focal length of the camera is 43 mm with a field of view (FOV) of 16° x 16°.[3] The two cameras are separated by 30 cm and are mounted upside-down relative to each other.[2]

Charge-Coupled Device

A 1024 x 2048 frame transfer Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) detector built by Mitel is used for both cameras. CCD is front side illuminated and does not use any anti reflex or UV-enhancing coatings. Half of the chip is used for storage and readout and is therefore shielded from illumination.[3]

Electronics

An Actel Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) RT1280 provides the necessary computational abilities for the camera. The signal of the CCD is transformed into a 12 bit digital signal before data processing.[3]

Filter wheel

The left camera has filters with the following wavelength: (739, 753, 673, 601, 535, 482, 432, 440 nm), while the right camera has the filters for:(436, 754, 803, 864, 904, 934, 1009, 880 nm)[3]

Calibration target

Pancam operators attempted human eye color in these two pictures of the MER MarsDial taken 10 days apart. Dust-clearing winds reduced the amount of dust in the right-side image. The images were produced with light from 430 nanometer to 750 nm wavelengths.[4]

The calibration target on the rover is also part of the camera system and contains several areas. Polished areas to reflect the Martian sky, areas with known reflectivity and at the four corners color targets made from silicone. The inorganic pigments for the corners were hematite, goethite, chromium oxide and cobalt aluminate.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ PIA17078: Opportunity's view of 'Solander Point'
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Athena - PanCam
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Mars Exploration Rover Athena Panoramic Camera (Pancam) investigation". doi:10.1029/2003JE002070.
  4. ↑ NASA - PIA07942

External links