Mars 1064 nm spectral radiance measurements determined from the receiver noise response of the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter

A technique was developed to compute the radiance of the scene viewed by the optical receiver of the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter. The technique used the detection threshold and the false detection rate of the receiver to provide a passive radiometry measurement of Mars at the 1064 nm wavelength over a 2 nm bandwidth and subkilometer spatial resolution in addition to the altimetry and active radiometry measurements. The passive radiometry measurement is shown to have a 2% or better precision and has been stable over several Martian years. We describe the principle of operation of the instrument and its calibration and assess its performance from sample orbital measurements.