Planetary Exploration

Poster available for download below

Teledyne boasts some of the records for the most distant exports, where our image sensors have been central to gaining the first close up images of Pluto, visiting the Kuiper Belt and fly-pasts of Mercury. This experience and proven track record for devices flying for more than 16 years and then performing as planned at that critical moment has informed all our space products and service capabilities allowing us to provide assured products that will perform in the harshest environments which doesn’t get more harsh than deep space.

A vital component to learning more about other worlds is the ability to capture detailed images and spectroscopic data across the visible, UV, NIR and infrared (IR) spectrum. During 30 years involvement with the highest profile missions, the detailed scientific information and images obtained with Teledyne Imaging’s CCD and CMOS sensors and IR FPAs are helping us understand more about our solar system. Key enabling device characteristics that unlock the performance needed for these missions include low noise, very low dark current, deep depleted MCT, large pixel sizes, backside illumination and backthinned detector substrates.

Key Teledyne Advantages


Artist’s conception of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in cruise configuration. Credit: University of Arizona/Heather Roper

Teledyne Imaging is able to provide the highest performance, optimised and custom package solutions and assemblies for any mission.

  • Space proven large format CCD arrays
  • Highest performance large format Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) or HgCdTe FPAs
  • Custom and standard CMOS Image Sensors (CIS)
  • Flight proven star trackers
  • Space qualified
  • Radiation tolerant
  • In-house Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) grown MCT
  • State of the art CCD fabrication facility
  • In-house backthinning process

Our Heritage

With more than 12 flown missions that the Teledyne Imaging group have provided the imaging or detector or system for and several planned missions, Teledyne has a proven and enviable market leading position in space qualified imaging solutions.

Examples:

  • Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit & Opportunity) - Visible CCD
  • Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity rover) - Visible CCD
  • Exomars Orbiter – Visible CCD
  • Mars InSight – Visible CCD
  • OSIRIS REx – Visible CCD, large format IR MCT FPA
  • New Horizons – Visible CCD

Planetary Exploration Products

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Questions? Need more info? Contact our sales team today.

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