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Re: Mars Global Surveyor



>Any idea why the MGS team is being a bit tight fisted with  the initial mars
>images taken just after Surveyor entered Martian orbit?  

Simple answer: the camera hasn't been calibrated for the upper atmosphere
of Mars.  The first images taken from the aerobraking orbit were out-of-focus
because of the temperatures changes on the camera.

Note that any images taken during the aerobraking phase of the mission
are all bonus images.  The first images were not even scheduled to be taken
until the mapping phase, which is four months from now.  However, the 
MGS team has decided to attempt to take some images during the aerobraking
maneuvers.

Ron Baalke