Planetary Imaging: Past, Present, and Future

Author

Masursky, Harold ; Collins, Stewart A. ; Danielson, G. Edward ; Norris, David ; Reilly, Terrence J. ; Thorpe, Thomas E. ; Wellman, John B. ; Cutts, James A. ; Smith, Bradford A. ; Trask, Newell J.

Author_Institution

U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Volume

14

Issue

3

fYear

1976

fDate

7/1/1976 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

122

Lastpage

134

Abstract

Recent exploration of the planets has been highlighted by the development of visual imaging systems carried on board the spacecraft. This paper describes the evolution of planetary camera systems from the earliest reconnaissance flight to Mars in 1965 (Mariner 4) through the planned mission to Jupiter and Saturn in 1977. Advances in telecommunication performance, mission planning and operations, and digital processing of images are also discussed. Science objectives and changes in the imaging systems required to meet these objectives are discussed for the Mariner Mars 1971 (Mariner 9), Mariner Venus-Mercury (Mariner 10), Viking 1975 (Mars Orbiter), and Mariner Jupiter-Saturn 1977 missions. The last section of the paper describes future plans for imaging experiments based on cameras using solid-state sensors, particularly charge-coupled devices.

Keywords

Cameras; Charge-coupled image sensors; Jupiter; Mars; Planets; Process planning; Reconnaissance; Saturn; Solid state circuits; Space vehicles;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Geoscience Electronics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9413

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TGE.1976.294444

Filename

4071791