[meteorite-list] Mars Orbiter Resumes Use of Camera (MRO)

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-282  

Orbiter Resumes Use of Camera
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
September 08, 2011

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Status Report

PASADENA, Calif. -- Operators of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are
resuming use of the mission's highest resolution camera following a
second precautionary shutdown in two weeks.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument
powered off on Aug. 27 and again on Sept. 6. In each case, commanding
for an observation was not properly received by the memory module
controlling one of the instrument's 14 electronic detectors (CCDs, or
charge-coupled devices).

Between those two incidents, the camera successfully resumed
observations for five days using its other 13 detectors. The second
entry into the power-off, thermally protected mode occurred during an
attempt to add use of the 14th detector. The camera is resuming
observations with 13 detectors today while plans are developed for other
diagnostic tests.

The detector remaining out of use pending further tests lies at the
outer edge of the lineup of detectors. It is one of 10 detectors
observing through red filters. The other four are pairs observing
through blue-green or near-infrared filters, yielding color images in
the central portion of the observation. Without this 14th detector,
observations can still cover as much area, in images slightly narrower,
but longer, than usual. The typical cross-track width of a HiRISE image
without use of that detector is about 3.4 miles (5.4 kilometers),
compared to about 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) when using all detectors. The
coverage area can be maintained by extending the length of the observed
area by about 10 percent.

HiRISE has returned more than 20,400 observations since the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter reached Mars in 2006. Each observation by this
telescopic camera covers several square miles, or square kilometers, and
can reveal features as small as a desk.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter completed its primary science phase in
2008 and continues to work in an extended mission.

HiRISE Principal Investigator Alfred McEwen, of the University of
Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, said, "This isn't a
significant loss to the science capability of HiRISE. However, it is a
sign that the instrument is aging and could suffer further degradation
in the future."

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute
of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space
Systems, Denver, built the orbiter and partners in its daily operation.
The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the HiRISE instrument, which
was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.

More information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is available
online at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/ . Information about HiRISE and
thousands of images from that instrument are available at
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ .

Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster at jpl.nasa.gov

2011-282