DESIGN OF A HIGH-RESOLUTION TELESCOPE FOR AN IMAGING SENSOR TO CHARACTERIZE A (MARTIAN) LANDING SITE

The surveillance of large areas with high resolution is limited by the CCD technology, the readout electronics, and the data storage rate. A n imaging concept that includes an optical camera and a survey strateg y is proposed for remote landing-site certification. A I-m-diam telesc ope performs diffraction-limited imaging over its field of view, imagi ng an area of 0.25 x 0.25 m of the (Martian) surface on a 7 x 7-mu m p ixel. With the sensor at 350 km above the 10 x 10-km site, this push-b room imaging configuration incorporates only five sensor passes over t he site. The mission time is decreased by nearly 50% from the previous ly proposed concept for the site certification imaging.