9 research outputs found
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The Beagle 2 optical microscope
Introduction to the Beagle2 optical microscope
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The Beagle 2 microscope
The Beagle 2 microscope provides optical images of the Martian surface at a resolution 5x higher than any other experiment currently planned. By using a novel illumination system it images in three colors and can also detect fluorescent materials
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The microscope for the Beagle 2 lander on ESA's Mars Express
The microscope for the Beagle 2 lander on Mars Express will provide 4 µm per pixel images of rock and soil samples. The instrument is described and test results are presented
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The Microscope for Beagle 2
The microscope for the Beagle 2 lander, which was launched as part of the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission on 2 June 2003, will provide images of the Martian surface at around 6 μm resolution. It will provide optical images of the surface of Mars at a resolution 5 times higher than any other experiment currently planned. The device has a working distance of 12 mm and uses a set of 12 light-emitting diodes which surround the aperture to illuminate the sample in four colours. The target is brought into focus using a stepper motor. This article describes the scientific objectives and the design of the microscope. It also discusses initial results from ground calibration exercises which were designed to validate the system and describes aspects of its operation