Instruments
VMC: Venus Monitoring Camera
The VMC camera consists of one unit that houses the optics, CCD and readout electronics (CRE), digital processing unit (DPU), and power converter (POC). The camera has four separate objective lens systems, each of which images a different, filter selected wavelength range onto a quadrant of a common 1032 x 1024 pixel Charge Coupled Device (CCD) detector. The field of view of the camera is 17.5 degrees (0.3 radians) and the image scale is 0.74 milliradians per pixel.
| VMC filter parameters | | Filter | Centre wavelength (μm) | Bandwidth (μm, FWHP) | Observation goals | | Dayside | Nightside | | F3 (UV) | 0.365 | 0.04 | Unknown UV absorber | O2 nightglow at 0.356 & 0.376 μm | | F4 (VIS) | 0.513 | 0.05 | Visible light imaging | O2 nightglow at 0.376 μm | | F5 (NIR1) | 0.965 | 0.07 | H2O at ~70 km | H2O below 70 km, clouds | | F6 (NIR2) | 1.01 | 0.02 | H2O below 70 km | Surface, clouds |
| VMC optical design | | VMC channel | F4 (VIS) | F5 (NIR1) | F6 (NIR2) | F3 (UV) | | Focal length | 13 mm | 13 mm | 13 mm | 13 mm | | F-number | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | | Optics | Three identical Cooke triplets + curved front filter | Separate Cooke triplet + curved front filter |
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VIRTIS: Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer |
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Last Update: 01 Dec 2009
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