Mars Imaging Camera (MIC) on board PLANET-B

Abstract

Mars Imaging Camera (MIC) on board PLANET-B, Japanese Mars mission, is a small, compact and lightweight imager. It features three-color linear CCD aligned with the spacecraft's spin axis and is designed to take two-dimensional images of Mars and its satellites using the spacecraft's spin. The total field of view (FOV) of the camera is 360 degree (around the spin axis) × 54.2 degree (along the array). MIC takes one image of designated area in the total FOV in one spin. The angular resolution of the camera is about 400 urad/pixel which corresponds to a spatial resolution of about 60 m at the periapsis of 150 km-altitude. Image data can be compressed by JPEG lossy image compression algorithm. Compression chip set is supplied from CNES of France under international collaboration. Among three imaging modes for inflight operation of MIC, the autonomous tracking mode is prepared for the encounter with Phobos or Deimos. In this mode, MIC will track the object moving relative to the spacecraft by analyzing its motion. A series of pre-flight tests of MIC was performed. In this test, the hardware performance and the functions of MIC were verified and the data for radiometric and geometric corrections were obtained.