Visual Monitoring Camera: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:59, 13 December 2018

Revision as of 20:55, 15 February 2019

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[[File:Beagle-2-separation.png|thumbnail|Beagle 2 separation]]

[[File:Elysium Planitia labelled view.jpg|thumb|Global view of planet Mars, with [[Elysium Planitia]], where [[InSight]] landed in 2018, and Gale crater, where Curiosity landed in 2012 noted along with the North polar cap]]

The '''Visual Monitoring Camera''' ('''VMC'''),<ref name="faq">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.esa.int/vmc/faq/ |title=Mars Webcam: FAQ |website=blogs.esa.int |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. Originally, anVMC was a technical camera to monitor the seperationseparation of the Beagle 2 lander, but after a few years, it was repurposed into Mars Webcam, streaming its data to the web and even being used for science.

Starting in 2007, the VMC was used for the Mars Webcam project (sometimes called this after this time), where it takes global views of Mars at a high cadence and they are posted online.<ref name="ESA">{{cite web |title=Mars Webcam: About |url=http://blogs.esa.int/vmc/about-the-mars-webcam/ |website=blogs.esa.int |publisher=[[European Space Agency]]}}</ref> The VMC is a camera-on-chip design, using the IRIS-1 system.<ref name="ESA" /> Originally used as engineering monitoring camera for the ''[[Beagle 2]]'' lander, it has a wide 40° [[field of view]] and limited imaging controls and it has no focus mechanism.<ref name="ESA" /> In 2016, it was used for professional science in addition to its roles as a technical monitoring camera and public outreach, etc.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mars Webcam goes pro |url=http://esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Mars_Webcam_goes_pro |website=esa.int |publisher=[[European Space Agency]] |date=25 May 2016}}</ref>

== 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&nbsp;[[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" />

The European Space Agency occasionally establishes campaigns inviting people to propose targets to be imaged by the cameras, such as the event on 25–27 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>