More than three years experience with the MOMS-2P camera onboard the MIR - space station

Abstract

Since May 1996 DLR operates the optoelectronic camera MOMS-2P onboard the PRIRODA-module on the Russian space station MIR. Due to technical difficulties of the MIR-station only a limited amount of image data could be obtained during the period 1996/97. From April 1998 on the MOMS-camera has been operated regularly and has obtained images of high quality. From a flight altitude of approx. 400 km image data with a ground resolution of 18 m and a swath width of 100 km can be recorded. The MOMS-2P camera consists of several optics with which the earth surface can be imaged nearly simultaneously from three viewing directions. In that way stereo-images were generated allowing to measure the three dimensional terrain shape. The applied imaging technique is called "along track" - stereo principle and is tested for the first time in space.