An Efficient Uplink Pipeline for the MRO CRISMInstrument

摘要

The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) is a technically innovative visible-near infrared spectrometer on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft that has been collecting data in Mars orbit since September 2006. The science objectives of CRISM include mapping the entire surface of Mars at 200m/pixel in 72 selected wavelengths, mapping key areas at 18m/pixel in 544 wavelength channels from 0.362 μm to 3.920 μm, and measuring seasonal variations in Mars' atmosphere. The instrument's capabilities and the mix of science objectives pose operational challenges to planning uplink with a small staff. The ground planning system needs to develop weekly command loads for hundreds of observations addressing each of the objectives, with the high-resolution observations often taken in coordination with those of MRO's other optical instruments. The CRISM team has developed an efficient uplink pipeline to manage these operational challenges and has taken more than 26 Tb of data over the last two years. In this paper, we present the architecture of the uplink pipeline and its cost and efficiency benefits.