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Modular Optoelectronic Multispectral Scanner (MOMS)
Status:
Completed
Mission Category:
Historical Missions
Launch Date: June 18, 1983
The Modular Optoelectronic Multispectral Scanner (MOMS) was a camera mounted on the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-01), which launched as a free-flyer platform (the image above shows the SPAS platform that MOMS was mounted on). The scanning system had airborne and, predominantly spaceborne, geoscientific remote sensing applications . The first version, MOMS-01, was developed by order of the German Minister for Research and Technology under contract from the German Aerospace Research Establishment (DLR).
The most important characteristic of MOMS was the modular arrangement of the CCD-sensor, electronics, optical lens system, and filters. This arrangement allowed the instrument to be adapted for completely different geoscientific tasks or missions. The multispectral mode of MOMS enabled geologic mapping, mineral resources exploration, hydrology, mapping and monitoring of renewable resources (agriculture, forestry, urban and regional planning), coastal zone monitoring, and topographic mapping.
The first two flights of MOMS-01 took place on board the Space Shuttle missions STS-7 and STS-11 in 1983 and 1984, respectively. Both flights yielded high-resolution images with a 20x20m ground size from about a 300 orbital altitude. Data takes occurred over Africa/Arabia, Australia, east and southeast Asia, India, South America, and the US.
Key Modular Optoelectronic Multispectral Scanner Facts
| Mission/Portal Page: | http://science.nasa.gov/missions/moms/ |
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Relevant Science Focus Areas:
- Earth Surface and Interior
Relevant Science Questions:
- How is the global Earth system changing?