Mars Express was launched in 2003 with a simple, low-resolution camera to provide visual confirmation that its Beagle 2 lander had separated. Once that was done, the camera was switched off, and the craft got on with its main mission using its ‘real’ scientific instruments .
In 2007, ESA’s flight controllers switched it back on to see if it could still be used, possibly for education or science outreach, without interfering with routine operations or the mission’s prime science investigations.
It still worked well, and the camera's unique vantage point meant it could, for example, capture crescent images of Mars impossible from Earth. Its wide field of view provides global images of the Red Planet, a capability available on only one other Mars craft, India’s orbiter.
Source & further reading:http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Mars_Webcam_goes_pro
In 2007, ESA’s flight controllers switched it back on to see if it could still be used, possibly for education or science outreach, without interfering with routine operations or the mission’s prime science investigations.
It still worked well, and the camera's unique vantage point meant it could, for example, capture crescent images of Mars impossible from Earth. Its wide field of view provides global images of the Red Planet, a capability available on only one other Mars craft, India’s orbiter.
Source & further reading:http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Mars_Webcam_goes_pro
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