ATMOSPHERIC OPACITY MONITOR

THIS PROPOSAL RESPONDS TO TECHNICAL SUBTOPIC 08.15: EARTH-BASED AND PLANETARY PHOTOMETRY INSTRUMENTATION, WHICH REQUESTS A LOW MASS (LESS THAN 500 GRAMS) LOW POWER (LESS THAN 5 WATTS) ATMOSPHERE OPACITY MONITOR FOR USE ON SPACECRAFT OPERATING ON THE SURFACE OF MARS AND UNMANNED OR REMOTE TERRESTRIAL ATMOSPHERIC MONITORS. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO DEVELOP DETAILED CONCEPTUAL AND ENGINEERING DESIGNS OF TWO POTENTIAL PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT CONCEPTS: (1) ALL SKY IMAGING USING A LOW MASS LENS SYSTEM-CCD ARRAY DETECTOR TO STUDY HOURLY VARIANT PHENOMENA AND (2) A HORIZONTO ZENITH SWATH SYSTEM TO STUDY DAILY PHENOMENA AT MANY WAVELENGTHS. BOTH OF THESE SYSTEMS REQUIRE INNOVATIONS IN LOW MASS IMAGING AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS. THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL BE CARRIED OUT BY SETS, INC. PERSONNEL IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING AREAS: OPTICAL DESIGN, MECHANICAL DESIGN, THERMAL DESIGN, SIGNAL PROCESSING AND ELECTRONIC DESIGN. THE RESULT OF PHASE I WILL BE APPLIED TO THE PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT UNDER PHASE II.