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Each Pancam is one of two electronic stereo cameras on
/ref> According to a paper about Mars by JPL, the Pancam system can achieve an angular resolution of 300 microradians, which is three times better than the human eye. It can observe 14 spectral bands, and with two side-by side cameras can generate stereoscopic views of Mars, supporting the creation of large Mars
The calibration target on the rover is also part of the camera system and contains several areas. Polished areas to reflect the Martian sky, areas with known reflectivity and at the four corners color targets made from silicone. The inorganic pigments for the corners were
PanCamMars Exploration Rover Athena Panoramic Camera (Pancam) investigation
{{NASAMER Mars Exploration Rover mission Mars imagers
Each Pancam is one of two electronic stereo cameras on Mars Exploration Rovers
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, ''Spirit (rover), Spirit'' and ''Opportunity (rover), Opportunity'', exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rover ...
''Spirit'' and ''Opportunity''. It has a filter wheel assembly that enables it to view different wavelengths of light and the pair of Pancams are mounted beside two NavCams on the MER camera bar assembly.
According to Cornell University it can work with Mini-TES to analyze surroundings.Athena - PanCam/ref> According to a paper about Mars by JPL, the Pancam system can achieve an angular resolution of 300 microradians, which is three times better than the human eye. It can observe 14 spectral bands, and with two side-by side cameras can generate stereoscopic views of Mars, supporting the creation of large Mars
panoramas
A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
in excess of 10 Gbit uncompressed. ''Spirit'' rover took the highest resolution image ever taken on the surface of another planet up to that time when it landed in 2004.
Optics
The focal length of the camera is 43 mm with a field of view (FOV) of 16° x 16°. The two cameras are separated by 30 cm and are mounted upside-down relative to each other.Charge-Coupled Device
A 1024 x 2048 frame transfer Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) detector built by Mitel is used for both cameras. The CCD is front-side illuminated and does not use any anti-reflex or UV-enhancing coatings. Half of the chip is used for storage and readout and is therefore shielded from illumination.Electronics
An Actel Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) RT1280 provides the necessary computational abilities for the camera. The signal of the CCD is transformed into a 12-bit digital signal before data processing.Filter wheel
The left camera has filters with the following wavelength: (739, 753, 673, 601, 535, 482, 432, 440 nm), while the right camera has the filters for:(436, 754, 803, 864, 904, 934, 1009, 880 nm). Each filter wheel is driven by a stepper motor to provide rotation of the wheel.Calibration target
The calibration target on the rover is also part of the camera system and contains several areas. Polished areas to reflect the Martian sky, areas with known reflectivity and at the four corners color targets made from silicone. The inorganic pigments for the corners were hematite
Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...
, goethite
Goethite (, ) is a mineral of the diaspore group, consisting of iron(III) oxide-hydroxide, specifically the "α" polymorph. It is found in soil and other low-temperature environments such as sediment. Goethite has been well known since ancient t ...
, chromium oxide and cobalt aluminate. The calibration target is part of the sundial assembly.
See also
*Astrionics
Astrionics is the science and technology of the development and application of electronic systems, subsystems, and components used in spacecraft. The electronic systems on-board a spacecraft are embedded systems and include attitude determinati ...
* Comparison of embedded computer systems on board the Mars rovers
* ''Curiosity'' rover
* Hazcam
* List of NASA cameras on spacecraft
*Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
* Navcam
References
External links
PanCam
{{NASAMER Mars Exploration Rover mission Mars imagers