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[[File:Beagle-2-separation.png|thumbnail|Beagle 2 separation]]
The '''Visual Monitoring Camera''' ('''VMC'''),<ref name="faq">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.esa.int/vmc/faq/ |title=Mars Webcam: FAQ |publisher=European Space Agency}}</ref> also known as the Video Monitoring Camera<ref name="bulletin109">{{cite journal |url=http://www.esa.int/esapub/bulletin/bullet109/chapter9_bul109.pdf |title=Studies on the Re-use of the Mars Express Platform |journal=ESA Bulletin |first1=A. |last1=Gimenez |first2=J-P. |last2=Lebreton |first3=H. |last3=Svedhem |first4=J. |last4=Tauber |issue=109 |date=February 2002}}</ref> and Mars Webcam, is a small camera mounted on ''[[Mars Express]]'' spacecraft. It is operated by the Mars Express Flight Control Team at [[ESOC]] in Darmstadt, Germany.
== History ==
The camera was included on the ''Mars Express'' mission with the singular goal of monitoring the deployment of the ''[[Beagle 2]]'' lander, which occurred on 19 December 2003 at 08:31 [[UTC]]. After performing this task, the VMC remained unused, having no intended scientific purpose. In 2007 it was checked out and turned on for educational and science outreach. The Mars Webcam project was born and proved popular with the public, offering wide-angle shots of Mars on a regular basis.<ref name="vmc57864">{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Mars_Webcam_goes_pro |title=Mars Webcam goes pro |publisher=European Space Agency |date=25 May 2016 |accessdate=10 November 2016}}</ref>
The VMC was adopted as a science instrument in early 2016 in a collaboration between ESA and the [[University of the Basque Country]]{{'s}} Planetary Sciences Group. This collaboration will conduct a two-year study of the images returned by VMC, which provide a global view of the planet and allow for the study of planetary phenomena, including changes in the ice caps, dust storms and cloud activity.<ref name="vmc57864" />
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