SPS Seminar - The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission: the CaSSIS instrument

When:  Thursday 17^th December at 14.00

Where:  Microsoft Teams - Online

Speaker:  Charlotte Marriner - OU

Hosted by: Hannah Sargeant

Abstract:

The Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) is the imaging system aboard the joint European-Russian ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission. CaSSIS acquires high resolution (4.8 m/pixel) targeted colour images of Mars from a roughly circular orbit of 400 km above the surface. Over 18,000 images have been taken of the surface since science operations started nearly 3 years ago. Each image is acquired with up to 4 colours and can be either individual or stereo. Stereo images are acquired in one over-flight of the target using a rotation mechanism within the instrument negating the need for the whole spacecraft to manoeuvre for the images to be acquired. The science team (CaTL: CaSSIS Targeting Leads) plan the images, and the CaSSIS Targeting Specialists (CaTS) in the uplink operations team are responsible for helping the science team plan these images, generate the commanding, and help prevent the instrument from mis-commanding. The Open University (OU) is responsible for supporting the operations of the CaSSIS instrument and hosts one of the two CaTS in the CaSSIS team, with the OU CaTS also being responsible for organizing the UK image input. The other CaTS is present at the PI institute in Bern, Switzerland. The primary objectives of the instrument are to help characterize sites identified as potential sources of trace gases, investigate surface processes to constrain the atmospheric gas inventory, and finally to characterize potential future landing sites.

In this seminar I will give an overview of the ExoMars programme and TGO, before going into more detail about the CaSSIS instrument. I will talk about how the images are planned, the image settings available to the science team, and my involvement as CaTS. Finally, I will present several images taken by the CaSSIS instrument.

Bio:

Charlotte joined the OU in March 2018 at the beginning of TGO's primary science phase for her first operations role within a mission. She is responsible for the day-to-day running of the CaSSIS instrument, providing training and support to the science team in planning all images to be acquired, and is the interface between the CaSSIS science team and the ESA operations centres. Prior to joining the OU, she was working on her PhD at the University of Oxford looking at the effects of simulated lunar environment conditions on mineral mixture spectra in the thermal infrared wavelengths.