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MARS an Overview of the 1985–2006 Mars Orbiter Camera Science MARS MARS INFORMATICS The International Journal of Mars Science and Exploration Open Access Journals Science An overview of the 1985–2006 Mars Orbiter Camera science investigation Michael C. Malin1, Kenneth S. Edgett1, Bruce A. Cantor1, Michael A. Caplinger1, G. Edward Danielson2, Elsa H. Jensen1, Michael A. Ravine1, Jennifer L. Sandoval1, and Kimberley D. Supulver1 1Malin Space Science Systems, P.O. Box 910148, San Diego, CA, 92191-0148, USA; 2Deceased, 10 December 2005 Citation: Mars 5, 1-60, 2010; doi:10.1555/mars.2010.0001 History: Submitted: August 5, 2009; Reviewed: October 18, 2009; Accepted: November 15, 2009; Published: January 6, 2010 Editor: Jeffrey B. Plescia, Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University Reviewers: Jeffrey B. Plescia, Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University; R. Aileen Yingst, University of Wisconsin Green Bay Open Access: Copyright 2010 Malin Space Science Systems. This is an open-access paper distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Background: NASA selected the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) investigation in 1986 for the Mars Observer mission. The MOC consisted of three elements which shared a common package: a narrow angle camera designed to obtain images with a spatial resolution as high as 1.4 m per pixel from orbit, and two wide angle cameras (one with a red filter, the other blue) for daily global imaging to observe meteorological events, geodesy, and provide context for the narrow angle images. Following the loss of Mars Observer in August 1993, a second MOC was built from flight spare hardware and launched aboard Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) in November 1996. The spacecraft began orbiting Mars on 12 September 1997 and operated until 3 November 2006. Results: From launch until the end of the mission, the MGS MOC returned 243,668 images, 97,097 of which were acquired by the narrow angle camera. By mission’s end, the narrow angle images covered 5.45% of the planet’s surface at better than 12 m/pixel, and ~0.5% of Mars at better than 3 m/pixel. The MGS Mars Relay (MR) antenna utilized the MOC buffer to return data from landed spacecraft on Mars. In particular, the MR system relayed mission–critical Entry, Descent, and Landing data from the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) in real time in January 2004. In total, the MR, through the MOC buffer, returned 7680.26 Mbits of telemetry and science data from the MERs. Major science results of the MOC investigation include recognition of exposures of water-lain sedimentary rock; evidence of persistent water flow across the Martian surface and ponding in a body of standing water; the discovery of gullies that might indicate the presence of liquid water in the recent past and possibly at the present time; observation of rapid geomorphic change, perhaps indicating on-going climate change, in landforms composed of solid carbon dioxide at the Martian south pole; geomorphic evidence for ancient rainfall in the form of inverted hillslope rills and first-order streams; documentation of the present-day Martian impact cratering rate—a first for any body in the Solar System; observation of a planet–encircling dust event and recognition that there really are no truly global dust storms; and documentation of the repeatability of Martian weather events from year to year (which has a direct impact on the ability to predict future conditions for spacecraft that will enter the Martian atmosphere). MOC was used to support every U.S. mission to Mars for a decade; activities included imaging of candidate landing sites, monitoring weather during orbiter aerobraking periods, observation of weather at landing sites, imaging of landed hardware, the search for missing landers, and relay of data through the MR system. Conclusions: The scientific success of the $44 million, 20.5 year MOC investigation hinged upon a combination of factors, including how the instrument was operated (by a small, dedicated team that frequently discussed the results, posed hypotheses, and used the cameras to test those hypotheses); the high spatial resolution (relative to previous missions) of the narrow angle camera; the multiple extensions of the mission, resulting in 4.04 Mars years of systematic observation of meteorological events and greater areal coverage and opportunities for repeated imaging by the narrow angle camera; and the addition of off-nadir and higher down-track spatial sampling capabilities during the extended mission. 1 Malin et al: Mars 5, 1-60, 2010 Introduction were part of the former, while observations of the geomorphology (e.g., channels, volcanoes, layered materials, The Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) science investigation craters) and their implications for the understanding of revolutionized our collective view of the geologic diversity environmental phenomena (e.g., atmospheric and fluvial and nature of the modern meteorological conditions of Mars. sediment transport) were part of the latter category. As such, Selected in 1986 for the Mars Observer (MO) mission, and these two broad topic areas addressed key Mars Observer then re-flown on Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) after MO science goals to “determine the time and space distribution, was lost, the MOC consisted of three instruments: a narrow abundance, sources, and sinks of volatile material and dust angle camera that typically acquired images of spatial over a seasonal cycle,” and to “explore the structure and resolution between 1.5 and 12.0 m per pixel and two wide aspects of the circulation of the atmosphere” (NASA 1985). angle cameras (one with a red filter, the other blue) for 0.24 The broad MOC science objectives were unchanged as the to 7.5 km per pixel imaging of the Martian surface and mission transitioned from Mars Observer to Mars Global atmosphere. The MOC was also an integral part of the Mars Surveyor after the former was lost in 1993. Relay (MR) system, as the 12 MB RAM buffer within the MOC was used to store data relayed to Earth from landed Meteorology and climatology hardware through the MR UHF antenna. Meteorology and climatology are intimately related, as The MGS MOC returned 243,668 images to Earth. In meteorology is regarded as the present, dynamic expression addition, 7680.26 Mbits of telemetry and science data were of climate. MOC objectives focused on monitoring cloud received after relay from the Mars Exploration Rovers patterns, dust storm activity, changes in surface albedo (MER) through the MR and MOC buffer. Over the course of patterns, and seasonal variations in the polar caps over the the MGS mission, the MOC wide angle cameras returned course of a full Martian year (Malin et al. 1992). All of these 62,571 systematic, daily global image swaths (31,123 red; phenomena serve as proxies for aspects of atmospheric 31,448 blue) for meteorological investigation nearly every circulation, interaction between the surface and atmosphere, day for a period of 4.04 Mars years; these were interrupted and the present Martian H2O and CO2 cycles. by solar conjunction periods, spacecraft contingency and safe mode upsets, and occasional Deep Space Network (DSN) Geoscience coverage/downlink issues, but otherwise form a nearly MOC geoscience objectives centered on geomorphic forms continuous record. The narrow angle camera images, which that have implications for the past and present climate, totaled 97,097, covered 5.45% of the planet’s surface by the including the nature of fluvial landforms, eolian features, time the mission ended in early November 2006 at a polar layers, polar ice caps, and the modification of impact resolution higher than 12 m/pixel, and ~0.5% at a resolution craters and volcanic landforms (Malin et al. 1992). The high higher than 3 m/pixel. spatial resolution of the MOC narrow angle camera was The purpose of this paper is to summarize the MOC intended to bridge the gap between what can be seen in the investigation, instrument, and major results. We recognize highest resolution Viking orbiter images and the panoramic that describing the overall scientific results of the views obtained by the Viking landers (Danielson 1989). This investigation will require hundreds of pages and hundreds of increase in spatial resolution—relative to Viking orbiter illustrations; further, a detailed description of all aspects of images—was intended to permit better understanding of both the instrument development and operation would likewise ancient and modern landforms by focusing attention on the fill many dozens of pages. To that end, the authors began details of processes involved; for example, it was considered work in 2007 on a comprehensive MOC final report that we that boulders transported by catastrophic floods or in anticipate will take several more years to complete. In the mudflows would permit computation of the physical meantime, we decided to publish the present, shorter report properties of the flowing material at the time of so that MOC data users and others would not have to wait emplacement, and fine details in layers exposed in the Valles for the final report. Marineris and in the polar regions would help resolve questions about their deposition and, in the polar case, their relation to obliquity cycles. The high resolution images were Science objectives intended also to examine the sedimentological nature of The Mars Observer mission was designed to last one Martian eolian wind streaks and bedforms, features which result from year so that a full Mars year of atmospheric and surface- interaction between the circulating atmosphere and loose atmosphere interaction (e.g., dust-raising) observations could clasts on the planet’s surface. Finally, high resolution images be acquired. Mission goals centered on a combination of of Mars were anticipated to contribute to studies of future atmospheric science, surface mineralogy and elemental landing sites and assist in the engineering design of future composition, and global mapping of gravity, topography, and landed missions, although this was not considered a NASA magnetic fields (Palluconi and Albee 1985).
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