MarcoPolo-R is a medium-class space mission proposed for the 2015-2025 ESA Cosmic Vision Program with primary goal to return to Earth an unaltered sample from a primitive near-Earth asteroid (NEA). Among the proposed instruments on board, its narrow-angle camera (NAC) should be able to image the candidate object with spatial resolution of 3 mm per pixel at 200 m from its surface. The camera should also be able to support the lander descent operations by imaging the target from several distances in order to locate a suitable place for the landing. Hence a refocusing system is requested to accomplish this task, extending its imaging capabilities. Here we present a three-mirror anastigmat (TMA) common-axis optical design, providing high-quality imaging performances by selecting as entrance pupil the system aperture stop and exploiting the motion of a single mirror inside the instrument to allow the wide image refocusing requested, from infinity up to 200 m above the NEA surface. Such proposal matches with the NAC technical specifications and can be easily implemented with present day technology.

Date Published: 18 December 2012
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 8550, Optical Systems Design 2012, 85501H (18 December 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.981180

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8550:
Optical Systems Design 2012
Laurent Mazuray; Daniel G. Smith; Jean-Luc M. Tissot; Tina E. Kidger; Frank Wyrowski; Stuart David; Rolf Wartmann; Jeffrey M. Raynor; Andrew P. Wood; Pablo Benítez; Andreas Erdmann; Marta C. de la Fuente, Editor(s)