The Experiments HRSC and WAOSS on the Mars 94 and 96 Missions.

Abstract

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and the Wide Angle Opto- electronic Stereo Scanner (WAOSS) of the ARGUS remote sensing complex of theMars 94and 96 missions will image the surface of Mars and atmospheric phenomena in stereo and color and will carry out photometric measurements simultaneously. The scientific objectives are: INVESTIGATION OF THE MARTIAN SURFACE: Determination of the topography, Study of the morphology, Geology, and tectonics, Determination of Surface Ages and Crater/MeteoriteSize, Distribution, Analysis of the Surface Composition and Physical Surface Structure. INVESTIGATION OF THE MARTIAN SURFACE: examination of aerosol and condensation dust, study of the dynamics and evolution of local and regional, dust storms, investigation of the interaction between atmosphere and surface. COMPARATIVE STUDIES:investigation of the the evolution of the Martian crust, the geologichistory and the stratigraphic sequences, examination of the geophysical properties of the crust and lithosphere, investigation of the dynamics of the surface, scientific data evaluation from an integrated data base. Forthe first time in planetary exploration, data compression up to a factor of 20 and a solid state mass memory of 1 Gbit will be used in order to manage to return a data volume on the order of several 10^12 bits.