PanCam: the ‘science eyes’ of the Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars 2022) rover
- 1University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Space & Climate Physics, Dorking, United Kingdom of Great Britain – England, Scotland, Wales (a.coates@ucl.ac.uk)
- *A full list of authors appears at the end of the abstract
The scientific objectives of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover [1] are designed to answer several key questions in the search for life on Mars. In particular, the unique subsurface drill will address some of these questions for the first time, such as the possible existence and stability of sub-surface organics. PanCam [2] will establish the surface geological and morphological context for the mission, working in collaboration with other context instruments. Here, we describe the PanCam scientific objectives in geology, atmospheric science and 3D vision. We discuss the design of PanCam, which includes a stereo pair of Wide Angle Cameras (WACs), each of which has an 11 position filter wheel, and a High Resolution Camera (HRC) for high resolution investigations of rock texture at a distance. The cameras and electronics are housed in an optical bench that provides the mechanical interface to the rover mast and a planetary protection barrier. The electronic interface is via the PanCam Interface Unit (PIU), and power conditioning is via a DC-DC converter. PanCam also includes a calibration target mounted on the rover deck for radiometric calibration, fiducial markers for geometric calibration and a rover inspection mirror. Recent simulations [3] show the view from PanCam, the ‘science eyes’ of the Rosalind Franklin rover.
References:
[1] Vago, J.L., F. Westall, A.J. Coates, et al., Habitability on Early Mars and the Search for Biosignatures with the ExoMars Rover, Astrobiology, 17(6-7), 471-510, doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1533, Jul 2017.
[2] Coates, A.J., R. Jaumann, A.D. Griffiths, et al., The PanCam instrument for the ExoMars rover, Astrobiology, 17 (6-7), 511-541, doi: 10.1089/ast.2016.1548, Jul 2017.
[3] Miles, H.C., M.D. Gunn and A.J. Coates, Seeing through the ‘Science Eyes’ of the ExoMars Rover, IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, Applications Department, 40, 71-81, doi: 10.1109/MCG.2020.2970796, Mar-Apr 2020.
A.J. Coates,1,2 M. Carter,1,2 C.E. Leff,1,2 B. Whiteside1,2, T.Hunt1,2, N. Schmitz,3 R. Jaumann,3 J.-L. Josset,4 G. Paar,5 M. Gunn,6 E. Hauber,3 C.R. Cousins,7 P. Grindrod,8 J.C. Bridges,9 M. Balme,10 S. Gupta,11 I.A. Crawford,2,12 P. Irwin,13 R. Stabbins,1,2,8 D. Tirsch,3 J.L. Vago,14 M. Caballo-Perucha,5 G.R. Osinski,15 and the PanCam Team 1Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK (a.coates@ucl.ac.uk) 2Centre for Planetary Science at UCL/Birkbeck, London, UK. 3Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Berlin, Germany. 4Space Exploration Institute, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. 5Joanneum Research, Graz, Austria. 6Department of Physics, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK. 7Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK. 8Natural History Museum, London, UK 9Space Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK. 10Department of Earth Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. 11Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, UK. 12Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birk-beck, University of London, London, UK. 13Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. 14European Space Agency, Noordwijk, the Netherlands. 15Centre for Planetary Science & Exploration, U. Western Ontario, London, Canada
How to cite: Coates, A. and the Rosalind Franklin PanCam team: PanCam: the ‘science eyes’ of the Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars 2022) rover , European Planetary Science Congress 2021, online, 13–24 Sep 2021, EPSC2021-748, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2021-748, 2021.
