Sensors Map Planet’s Surface

Onboard NASA’s Messenger, the first spacecraft to orbit the planet Mercury, CCD imaging sensors from e2v Technologies plc have captured new views of Mercury. The sensors were used in Messenger’s Mercury Dual Imaging System, which comprises a multispectral wide-angle camera and a monochrome narrow-angle camera, both of which map rugged landforms and spectral variations on the planet’s surface. The instrument is equipped with an e2v CCD TH7888A, a 1024 x 1024-pixel frame transfer sensor allowing up to 30 images per second, with antiblooming and a possibility of 2 x 2 binning operation. More than 1200 images of Mercury were produced during the spacecraft’s three flybys of the planet. A provider of aerospace, medical and industrial solutions, e2v is based in Chelmsford, UK. Messenger was launched in 2004.