The Mars Orbiter Camera and Mars Observer Camera (MOC) were scientific instruments on board the

Mars Observer The ''Mars Observer'' spacecraft, also known as the ''Mars Geoscience/Climatology Orbiter'', was a Robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe launched by NASA on September 25, 1992, to study the Martian surface, atmosphere, climate and magnetic fie ...

and

Mars Global Surveyor ''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American Robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It launched November 1996 and collected data from 1997 to 2006. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined ...

spacecraft. The

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

was built by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

and the cost of the whole MOC scientific investigation project was about US$44 million, higher than anticipated in the budget.

Design

Originally named Mars Observer Camera, it was selected by

in 1986 for the

mission, but it returned only three images of planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

before the loss of the spacecraft in 1993. A second camera of the same specifications, renamed to Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), was built (with assistance by

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

) and launched on board the

(MGS) spacecraft in 1996. The camera returned 243,668 images while in orbit around Mars, before the loss of the MGS spacecraft in 2006. Mars Orbiter Camera was operated by its manufacturer, Malin Space Science Systems, from its facilities in San Diego, California. The scientific instrument consisted of three elements: a black-and-white narrow-angle camera with a

spatial resolution In physics and geosciences, the term spatial resolution refers to distance between independent measurements, or the physical dimension that represents a pixel of the image. While in some instruments, like cameras and telescopes, spatial resoluti ...

of 1.4 metres per

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a Raster graphics, raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, p ...

(from an altitude of 378 km), and two pushbroom wide-angle cameras (one red, the other blue) with resolution capabilities spanning 230 m per pixel to 7.5 km/pixel. The narrow-angle camera provided 97,097 (roughly 40%) of the 243,668 images returned by Mars Orbiter Camera. The narrow-angle camera was placed inside an 80 cm-long cylinder with a diameter of 40 cm, and the two wide-angle cameras were attached above the cylinder's front area. All cameras were based on CCD technology and were supported by state-of-the-art 1980s electronics, including a 32-bit radiation-hardened 10

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

processor (capable of 1 million instructions per second) and 12 MB of

DRAM Dram, DRAM, or drams may refer to: Technology and engineering * Dram (unit), a unit of mass and volume, and an informal name for a small amount of liquor, especially whisky or whiskey * Dynamic random-access memory, a type of electronic semicondu ...

memory buffer. In addition to taking images, the MOC instrument's 12 MB memory buffer serviced the Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Relay antenna as temporary data storage for communications between Earth and landed spacecraft on Mars. For example, more than 7.6

terabit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communication. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented as ...

s of data were transferred to and from the Mars Exploration Rovers (''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity''). The camera also enabled NASA scientists to choose suitable landing sites for other exploration missions.

Images

File:Mars by Mars Observer.png, Mars Observer Camera view of Mars, before contact was lost File:Mars 2.jpg, Mars Orbiter Camera view of Mars in enhanced color, centered on Arabia Terra (the bright area) File:Moc2 166b msss.gif, Mars Orbiter Camera picture taken on 21 July 1999 showing Mars' polar dunes Image:Gullies and tongue-shaped glacier.jpg, Gullies in a crater in Eridania, north of the large crater Kepler. Also, features that may be remains of old

glaciers A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

are present. One, to the right, has the shape of a tongue. Image taken with

, under the MOC Public Targeting Program. Image:Dust devil tracks in Eridania.JPG, Pattern of large and small tracks made by giant dust devils as seen by Mars Global Surveyor. Image:Gully in Phaethontis.jpg, Group of gullies on north wall of crater that lies west of the crater Newton (41.3047 degrees south latitude, 192.89 east longitide). Image taken with

under the MOC Public Targeting Program. Image:Dark streaks in Diacria.JPG, Dark streaks in Diacria quadrangle, as seen by ''Mars Global Surveyor'', under the MOC Public Targeting Program. Image:Coprates layers.JPG, Layers in the canyon wall in Coprates quadrangle, as seen by ''Mars Global Surveyor'', under MOC Public Targeting Program. Image:Lava flow in Elysium.JPG, Lava flow in Elysium. There are many lava flows in the Elysium quadrangle. In this one, the lava flowed toward the upper right. Image taken by ''Mars Global Surveyor'', under the MOC Public Targeting Program.

References

{{Mars Mars imagers Mars Global Surveyor

Design

Images

See also

References