Small Mars Mission Architecture Study

Table 3

Science payload suite and associated objectives for the Mars Communications Constellation.

Instrument	Heritage	FOV (°)	Spatial Res. at TASO (m)	Science objective	Ref.
Wide-angle camera imaging suite (VIS)	VMC (Venus Express)		3840	Daily weather monitoring, dust storm, clouds	[18, 19]
Wide-angle camera imaging suite (NIR)	VMC (Venus Express)		3840	Atmospheric composition O2, H2O, CO, CO2, N-species	[18, 19]
Wide-angle camera imaging suite (UV)	VMC (Venus Express)		3840	Ozone (250–270 nm), aurora effects	[18, 19]
Thermal IR radiometer	MARA (MASCOT)		1.5E6	Temperature of the atmosphere	[20]

Each satellite in the constellation contains an identical science payload suite. An orbital version of MARA would need a modified optical design to obtain a 5° × 5° FOV instead of the original 18° × 18°. An upgrade to thermal IR imaging capability would be preferred if resources allow.