The Beagle 2 lander carries three cameras:
- A stereo pair of cameras mounted on the robotic arm will provide a panoramic view of the scene around the landing site and monitor the activities during sampling.
- One of the cameras is equipped with a pop-up mirror which
will provide the first wide angle picture of Mars soon after
landing without having to lift the robotic arm from its
stowage. Later in the mission the mirror will be used to
observe the mole in its carrier tube.
- A third camera is part of a microscope, deployed by the
robotic arm which will be used to examine fresh rock surfaces
cleaned of weathered debris by a rock grinder. The microscope
with 6 micron resolution will image at various wavelengths.
Management of the camera systems is the responsibility of the Mullard Space Science
Laboratory of University College London, who are also in charge
of the mechanical aspects of the instruments. Space-X is providing
the heads, electronics and optics for the panoramic cameras.
The microscope has been developed by the Max Planck Institut
fur Aeronomie in Lindau. The panoramic cameras will be used
to create a 3D model of the landing site using software from
the Joanneum Research Institute (Graz, Austria) whose expertise
is in image processing.
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