Coates, A.

Griffiths, A.

Hauber, E.

Hoffmann, H.

Jaumann, R.

Le Deit, L.

Paar, G.

Schmitz, Nicole

The PanCam Team, and

Tirsch, D.

Institute of Transport Research:Publications

Geophysical Research AbstractsVol. 12, EGU2010-11061-2, 2010EGU General Assembly 2010© Author(s) 2010The PanCam instrument on the 2018 Exomars rover: Scientific objectivesRalf Jaumann (1,2), Andrew Coates (3), Ernst Hauber (1), Harald Hoffmann (1), Nicole Schmitz (1), Laetitia LeDeit (1), Daniela Tirsch (1), Gerhard Paar (4), Andrew Griffiths (3), and the The PanCam Team(1) German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany (Ralf.Jaumann@dlr.de,+49-30-67055400), (2) Institute of Geological Sciences, Free University Berlin, Germany , (3) MSSL/UCL, London, UnitedKingdom, (4) Joanneum Research, Graz, AustriaThe Exomars Panoramic Camera System is an imaging suite of three camera heads to be mounted on the ExoMarsrover‘s mast, with the boresight 1.8 m above ground. As late as the ExoMars Pasteur Payload Design Review(PDR) in 2009, the PanCam consists of two identical wide angle cameras (WAC) with fixed focal length lenses,and a high resolution camera (HRC) with an automatic focus mechanism, placed adjacent to the right WAC. TheWAC stereo pair provides binocular vision for stereoscopic studies as well as 12 filter positions (per camera) forstereoscopic colour imaging and scientific multispectral studies. The stereo baseline of the pair is 500 mm. Thetwo WAC have 22 mm focal length, f/10 lenses that illuminate detectors with 1024 × 1024 pixels. WAC lenses arefixed, with an optimal focus set to 4 m, and a focus ranging from 1.2 m (corresponding to the nearest view of thecalibration target on the rover deck) to infinity. The HRC is able to focus between 0.9 m (distance to a drill coreon the rover‘s sample tray) and infinity. The instantaneous field of views of WAC and HRC are 580 µrad/pixel and83 µrad/pixel, respectively. The corresponding resolution (in mm/pixel) at a distance of 2 m are 1.2 (WAC) and0.17 (HRC), at 100 m distance it is 58 (WAC) and 8.3 (HRC). WAC and HRC will be geometrically co-aligned.The main scientific goal of PanCam is the geologic characterisation of the environment in which the rover isoperating, providing the context for investigations carried out by the other instruments of the Pasteur payload.PanCam data will serve as a bridge between orbital data (high-resolution images from HRSC, CTX, and HiRISE,and spectrometer data from OMEGA and CRISM) and the data acquired in situ on the Martian surface. Theposition of HRC on top of the rover‘s mast enables the detailed panoramic inspection of surface features overthe full horizontal range of 360° even at large distances, an important prerequisite to identify the scientificallymost promising targets and to plan the rover‘s traverse. Key to success of PanCam is the provision of data thatallow the determination of rock lithology, either of boulders on the surface or of outcrops. This task requires highspatial resolution as well as colour capabilities. The stereo images provide complementary information on thethree-dimensional properties (i.e. the shape) of rocks. As an example, the degree of rounding of rocks as a resultof fluvial transport can reveal the erosional history of the investigated particles, with possible implications on thechronology and intensity of rock-water interaction. The identification of lithology and geological history of rockswill strongly benefit from the co-aligned views of WAC (colour, stereo) and HRC (high spatial resolution), whichwill ensure that 3D and multispectral information is available together with fine-scale textural information for eachscene. Stereo information is also of utmost importance for the determination of outcrop geometry (e.g., strike anddip of layered sequences), which helps to understand the emplacement history of sedimentary and volcanic rocks(e.g., cross-bedding, unconformities, etc.). PanCam will further reveal physical soil properties such as cohesionby imaging sites where the soil is disturbed by the rover‘s wheels and the drill. Another essential task of PanCamis the imaging of samples (from the drill) before ingestion into the rover for further analysis by other instruments.PanCam can be tilted vertically and will also study the atmosphere (e.g., dust loading, opacity, clouds) and aeolianprocesses related to surface-atmosphere interactions, such as dust devils.

The PanCam instrument on the 2018 Exomars rover: Scientific objectives

The PanCam instrument on the 2018 Exomars rover: Scientific objectives

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