University of Bern | 2018 Apr 26
The Mars camera CaSSIS on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has returned its first colour images of the red planet. The camera system, which was developed at the University of Bern, is now ready for the start of its prime mission on April 28, 2018.
The Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) has been designed by an international team under guidance of the University of Bern. The Mars camera is on board of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, a European Space Agency/Roscosmos mission. It has now returned its first colour images from the orbit at Mars. The camera system was switched on 20 March and has been undergoing tests in preparation for the start of its prime mission on April 28, 2018. ...
Some of the first images have been spectacular. The example image is from the rim of an ice-filled crater called Korolev at high latitude in the northern hemisphere. The bright material is ice that can be seen on the rim of the crater (which is much larger than the image). The picture has a resolution of just over 5 metres and outperforms the resolution of images from Hubble and other telescopes by far. In the future, CaSSIS should operate from slightly lower altitudes to give resolutions of less than 5 metres. ...
The image is a composite of three images in different colours that were taken almost simultaneously by CaSSIS on April 15, 2018. They were then assembled to produce this colour view. ...
