Ground and In-Flight Calibration of the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite

D R Golish; C Drouet d'Aubigny; B Rizk; D N DellaGiustina; P H Smith; K Becker; N Shultz; T Stone; M K Barker; E Mazarico; E Tatsumi; R W Gaskell; L Harrison; C Merrill; C Fellows; B Williams; S O'Dougherty; M Whiteley; J Hancock; B E Clark; C W Hergenrother; D S Lauretta

doi:10.1007/s11214-019-0626-6

Ground and In-Flight Calibration of the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite

Space Sci Rev. 2020;216(1):12. doi: 10.1007/s11214-019-0626-6. Epub 2020 Jan 23.

Authors

D R Golish¹, C Drouet d'Aubigny¹, B Rizk¹, D N DellaGiustina¹, P H Smith¹, K Becker¹, N Shultz¹, T Stone², M K Barker³, E Mazarico³, E Tatsumi⁴, R W Gaskell⁵, L Harrison¹, C Merrill¹, C Fellows¹, B Williams¹, S O'Dougherty¹, M Whiteley⁶, J Hancock⁶, B E Clark⁷, C W Hergenrother¹, D S Lauretta¹

Affiliations

¹ 1Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ USA.
² United States Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ USA.
³ 3Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA.
⁴ 4Department of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ 5Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ USA.
⁶ 6Space Dynamics Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan, UT USA.
⁷ 7Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY USA.

Abstract

The OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite (OCAMS) onboard the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is used to study the shape and surface of the mission's target, asteroid (101955) Bennu, in support of the selection of a sampling site. We present calibration methods and results for the three OCAMS cameras-MapCam, PolyCam, and SamCam-using data from pre-flight and in-flight calibration campaigns. Pre-flight calibrations established a baseline for a variety of camera properties, including bias and dark behavior, flat fields, stray light, and radiometric calibration. In-flight activities updated these calibrations where possible, allowing us to confidently measure Bennu's surface. Accurate calibration is critical not only for establishing a global understanding of Bennu, but also for enabling analyses of potential sampling locations and for providing scientific context for the returned sample.

Keywords: (101955) Bennu; Asteroids; Data reduction techniques; Instrumentation; OSIRIS-REx.

Publication types

Review