 |
|
|
Imaging systems developed and flown by MSSS (L to R): Mars Orbiter Camera, Mars Color Imager Wide Angle, Mars Color Imager Medium Angle, Mars Descent Imager, THEMIS Visible Imaging Subsystem
(click on the image of each camera to see a picture taken with that flight unit).
Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) can provide flight-proven space imaging systems for your small mission applications. We have delivered seven cameras for flight on NASA and commercial missions, and are currently in development on three additional flight imaging systems. Two of our cameras are in orbit around Mars right now; one of them has operated there for over 20,000 hours, returning more than 130,000 pictures so far. Our personnel are experienced in both science and engineering and can translate your science requirements and mission constraints into detailed designs and provide flight-ready instruments that deliver the performance you require.
Instruments in development or delivered by MSSS include:
In differing ways, each of these imaging systems illustrates our approach to instrument development--use the best available appropriate technologies to provide the performance necessary to meet the science goals with a sensible balance between reliability and cost effectiveness. All instruments delivered by MSSS were delivered on time and on budget.
For Mars Scout, Discovery, and New Frontiers missions, minimizing mass and cost are key constraints that must be satisfied while providing the performance required to meet the scientific goals of the mission at an appropriate level of assurance. Development costs can be substantially minimized by using an existing flight-qualified design. Assurance can be maximized also by using an existing flight-qualified design. Mass can be minimized by trading it off against performance--using the lowest mass design that can deliver the required performance. MSSS has a number of flight-qualified camera electronics designs that provide a range of choices to select from in the trade-off between mass and performance. Three different camera types that span this range are described below. Each of these camera electronics can be supplied with appropriate optics and filters to meet specific resolution, field of view and spectral requirements. For applications with requirements that cannot be met by the designs given below, MSSS can also provide custom electronics designs optimized for a specific set of mission objectives.
Low Mass (TPS camera, The Planetary Society Cosmos-1 Mission)
This year, the Planetary Society will fly a solar sail mission called Cosmos-1. For that mission, they required a space-qualified camera that could fit within fairly severe mass and power constraints. This camera has to provide color images of the solar sail deployment, and provide them at frame rates high enough to capture the details of that deployment. To meet these requirements, MSSS developed a compact camera system based on a VGA format (640 x 480 pixel) color CMOS sensor. The TPS camera can provide a series of images at selectable resolutions and frame rates, and can acquire short bursts of images and store them in an internal buffer for subsequent readout at a lower data rate.
TPS camera flight unit, just prior to delivery to
the Planetary Society (click on image to enlarge).
TPS camera bench test image (viewing a test target on
the ceiling of the lab--click on image to enlarge).
The specifications for the TPS camera are as follows:
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Dectector | CMOS, 640 x 480 pixels |
| Electronics Mass | 120 g (including radiation shielding) |
| Power | 0.5 W |
| Color | Panchromatic or video quality color (Bayer pattern filter) or narrowband color (custom color filter) |
| Frame rate | up to 10 frames per second |
| Interface | RS-422 or LVDS |
High Heritage (MS '98/'01 MARDI/MARCI/VIS)
To meet the challenge of providing scientifically useful imaging within the constraints of the Mars Surveyor Program, MSSS developed at 1K x 1K format CCD camera. This flexible design was used with different optics and filters for five instruments delivered to JPL for flight (including the descent imager for the subsequently cancelled Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander). It is also being used for an instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
MARDI flight unit, just prior to delivery to the Mars
Polar Lander spacecraft (click on image to enlarge).
Image acquired using the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander
MARDI flight unit during focus testing (click on image to enlarge).
The specifications for the 1K camera are as follows:
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Dectector | CCD, 1024 x 1024 pixels |
| Electronics Mass | 350 g (including radiation shielding) |
| Power | 3.5 W |
| Color | Panchromatic or video quality color (Bayer pattern filter) or narrowband color (custom color filter) or pushframe color (custom narrowband color filter array) |
| Frame rate | up to 1.5 frames per second |
| Interface | RS-422 |
High performance (AVStar Narrow Field and Wide Field Cameras)
Astrovision is a commercial remote sensing company that is launching a series of spacecraft to provide color imagery of Earth from geosynchronous orbit. To meet their requirements for both high quality and high frame rate (compared to existing geosynchronous systems), MSSS designed the AVStar electronics system based on a 2K x 2K format interline transfer (electronically shuttered) CCD. As can be seen from the test image below, this large format can provide high resolution over a wide field of view.
AVStar Wide Field Camera, AstroVision Earth remote
sensing spaceraft (click on image to enlarge).
Image acquired with the AVStar prototype on the bench
(click on image to enlarge--note image is ~2 MB).
The specifications for the 2K camera are as follows:
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Dectector | CCD, 2048 x 2048 pixels |
| Electronics Mass | 500 g (including radiation shielding) |
| Power | 3 W |
| Color | Panchromatic or video quality color (Bayer pattern filter) or narrowband color (custom color filter) or pushframe color (custom narrowband color filter array) |
| Frame rate | up to 1 frame per second |
| Interface | LVDS |
For inquiries regarding these or other instruments, contact Michael Ravine (ravine@msss.com)
