Abstract
A compact, two-channel acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) camera is being built at GSFC as a candidate payload instrument for future Mars landers or small-body rendezvous missions. This effort is supported by the NASA Mars Instrument Development Program (MIDP), Office of Space Science Advanced Technologies and Mission Studies. Acousto-optic Imaging Spectrometer (AIMS) is electronically programmable and provides arbitrary spatial and spectral selection from 0.48 to 2.4 μm . The geometric throughput of AOTF's are well matched to the requirements for lander mounted cameras since (I) they can be made very compact, (II) “slow” (f/14–f/18) optics required for large depth-of-field fall well within the angular aperture limit of AOTF's, and (III) they operate at low ambient temperatures. A breadboard of the AIMS short-wavelength channel is now being used for spectral imaging of high-interest Mars analog materials (iron oxides, carbonates, sulfates and sedimentary basalts) as part of the initial instrument validation exercises.
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