Speaker
Description
Beginning of 2021, Sodern has been selected by Airbus Defence and Space for supplying the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) in the frame of the Mars Sample Return spacecraft a key element of the Earth Return Orbiter (MSR-ERO) mission. The Narrow Angle Camera is meant to take images of the Orbiting Sample (OS) and stars in the vicinity of mars, in both for OS detection and the orbit determination and during the Rendezvous (RDV) phase of the MSR-ERO mission. Sodern uses its expertise built up over decades in star trackers and cameras development, in particular with the recent development of the navigation camera (NAVCAM) for the Jupiter Icy Moon explorer (Juice) ESA mission. This paper describes the current features of the NAC camera and the ongoing activities.