Design and evaluation of a filter spectrometer concept for facsimile cameras

The facsimile camera is an optical-mechanical scanning device which was selected as the imaging system for the Viking '75 lander missions to Mars. A concept which uses an interference filter-photosensor array to integrate a spectrometric capability with the basic imagery function of this camera was proposed for possible application to future missions. This paper is concerned with the design and evaluation of critical electronic circuits and components that are required to implement this concept. The feasibility of obtaining spectroradiometric data is demonstrated, and the performance of a laboratory model is described in terms of spectral range, angular and spectral resolution, and noise-equivalent radiance.