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The
NASA rover to be launched to Mars this year will carry the Mast Camera
(Mastcam) instrument already on the vehicle, providing the capability to
meet the mission’s science goals.
Work
has stopped on an alternative version of the instrument, with a pair of
zoom-lens cameras, which would have provided additional capabilities
for improved three-dimensional video. The installed Mastcam on the Mars
Science Laboratory mission’s Curiosity rover uses two fixed-focal-length
cameras: a telephoto for one eye and wider angle for the other. Malin
Space Science Systems, San Diego, built the Mastcam and was funded by
NASA last year to see whether a zoom version could be developed in time
for testing on Curiosity.
“With
the Mastcam that was installed last year and the rover’s other
instruments, Curiosity can accomplish its ambitious research goals,”
said Mars Science Laboratory Project Scientist John Grotzinger, of the
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. “Malin Space Science
Systems has provided excellent, unprecedented science cameras for this
mission. The possibility for a zoom-camera upgrade was very much worth
pursuing, but time became too short for the levels of testing that would
be needed for them to confidently replace the existing cameras. We
applaud Malin Space Science Systems for their tremendous effort to
deliver the zooms, and also the Mars Science Laboratory Project’s
investment in supporting this effort.”
Malin
Space Science Systems has also provided the Mars Hand Lens Imager and
the Mars Descent Imager instruments on Curiosity. The company will
continue to pursue development of the zoom system, both to prove out the
design and to make the hardware available for possible use on future
missions.
“While
Curiosity won’t benefit from the 3D motion imaging that the zooms
enable, I’m certain that this technology will play an important role in
future missions,” said Mastcam Co-Investigator James Cameron. “In the
meantime, we’re certainly going to make the most of our cameras that are
working so well on Curiosity right now.”
Mastcam
Principal Investigator Michael Malin said, “Although we are very
disappointed that the zoom cameras will not fly, we expect the
fixed-focal-length cameras to achieve all of the primary science
objectives of the Mastcam investigation.”
The
rover and other parts of the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft are in
testing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., which
manages the project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate,
Washington. The spacecraft will be delivered to NASA Kennedy Space
Center in Florida in coming months for launch late this year. In August
2012, Curiosity will land on Mars for a two-year mission to examine
whether conditions in the landing area have been favorable for microbial
life and for preserving evidence about whether life has existed there.
About the Mastcam
The
Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has two
rectangular “eyes” near the top of the rover’s remote sensing mast. The
mast is on the right side of the rover, which puts it on the left side
of this image taken from in front of the rover.
The
lens openings for the two cameras of the Mastcam instrument are
different sizes. The smaller one is for the telephoto eye, which has a
focal length of 100 millimeters (see PIA13018). The larger one is for the wider-angle eye, with a focal length of 34 millimeters (see PIA13019). Each of these cameras can provide color images and high-definition video, and they can be combined for stereo views.
NASA’s
Mars Science Laboratory mission will use 10 science instruments on the
Curiosity rover to investigate whether one of the most intriguing parts
of Mars has had conditions favorable for microbial life and for
preserving evidence about whether life has existed there.
Malin
Space Science Systems, San Diego, has provided three of the rover’s 10
instruments: Mastcam, the Mars Hand Lens Imager and the Mars Descent
Imager. Curiosity and other parts of the Mars Science Laboratory
spacecraft are being prepared for launch between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18,
2011, and landing on Mars in August 2012.
