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NASA/ESA ExoMars Climate Sounder (EMCS) Development Study

2011 - 2012

Project overview

The JPL ExoMars Climate Sounder (EMCS) radiometer is an instrument is destined to fly on the NASA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (EMTGO) mission due for launch in 2016. The project, in conjunction with the University of Oxford, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, is to develop special miniature infrared filters for the instrument optical payload.

The ExoMars Climate Sounder (EMCS) instrument will map daily, global, pole-to-pole profiles of temperature, dust, water and carbon dioxide ices, and water vapour from the planetary atmosphere. The filters will help provide measurements that are to be assimilated into Mars global circulation models. EMCS will look through the full cross-section of the Martian atmosphere using 9 spectral channels from 12-45 micron wavelengths to characterise the trace gases with a goal to enhance understanding of Mars photochemistry, aerosol distribution, and water vapour concentrations.

The University of Reading has been responsible for the design and fabrication of precision bandpass filters between 11.8 and 22.5 microns.

Delivered hardware

Description Filter Type Quantity Wavelength Region Substrate Material Dimensions
Mid-IR Filters Narrow bandpass filters 6 channels 11.8 - 22.2 µm Germanium (Ge) 9.00 mm L x 0.94 mm W x 0.40 mm T

Partners

Further information

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