Visual Monitoring Camera: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 03:37, 11 November 2016

Revision as of 16:25, 21 November 2017

Line 2:

[[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 ==

Line 9:

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" />

The European Space Agency occasionally establishes campaigns inviting people to propose targets to be imaged by the cameras, such as the event on 25-2725–27 May 2015.<ref name="esa20150306">{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Have_you_ever_used_a_camera_on_board_an_interplanetary_craft |title=Have you ever used a camera on board an interplanetary craft? |publisher=European Space Agency |date=6 March 2015 |accessdate=10 November 2016}}</ref>

As of May 2016, the camera has returned over 19,000 images.<ref name="vmc57864" /> New images are published to the camera's Flickr account in a fully automated process as they are received from the spacecraft,<ref name="planetary20121219">{{cite web |url=http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2012/12190600-mars-express-vmc.html |title=Mars Express VMC resumes raw data posting |publisher=[[The Planetary Society]] |first=Emily |last=Lakdawalla |date=19 December 2012 |accessdate=10 November 2016}}</ref> and all images produced by the VMC are released under a [[Creative Commons]] Attribution/ShareAlike license (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO).<ref name="flickr">{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/people/esa_marswebcam/ |title=VMC The Mars Webcam |work=Flickr.com |accessdate=10 November 2016}}</ref>

== Technical specifications ==

Line 21:

* [[Field of View]]: 40×31 degrees

* Approximate distance from Mars surface: {{convert|300|-|10000|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="sfnow20031225">{{cite news |url=https://www.spaceflightnow.com/mars/marsexpress/031225update.html |title=Mars Express a success, but no one hears Beagle's bark |work=Spaceflight Now |first=Stephen |last=Clark |date=25 December 2003 |accessdate=10 November 2016}}</ref>

* Calculated<ref group="n">tan(31°/2) * 300&nbsp;km / 240&nbsp;px</ref> resolution at 300 &nbsp;km: {{convert|0.347|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=x|/pixel (|/px)}}

* Calculated<ref group="n">tan(31°/2) * 10000&nbsp;km / 240&nbsp;px</ref> resolution at 10,000 &nbsp;km: {{convert|11.5|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=x|/pixel (|/px)}}

* Mass: {{convert|430|g|lb|abbr=on}}

* Size: {{convert|65|xx|60|xx|108|mm|abbr=on}}