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Mars Science Laboratory Engineering CamerasNASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover, which launched to Mars in 2011, is equipped with a set of 12 engineering cameras. These cameras are build-to-print copies of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) cameras, which were sent to Mars in 2003. The engineering cameras weigh less than 300 grams each and use less than 3 W of power. Images returned from the engineering cameras are used to navigate the rover on the Martian surface, deploy the rover robotic arm, and ingest samples into the rover sample processing system. The navigation cameras (Navcams) are mounted to a pan/tilt mast and have a 45-degree square field of view (FOV) with a pixel scale of 0.82 mrad/pixel. The hazard avoidance cameras (Haz - cams) are body-mounted to the rover chassis in the front and rear of the vehicle and have a 124-degree square FOV with a pixel scale of 2.1 mrad/pixel. All of the cameras utilize a frame-transfer CCD (charge-coupled device) with a 1024x1024 imaging region and red/near IR bandpass filters centered at 650 nm. The MSL engineering cameras are grouped into two sets of six: one set of cameras is connected to rover computer A and the other set is connected to rover computer B. The MSL rover carries 8 Hazcams and 4 Navcams.
Document ID
20130008789
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Other - NASA Tech Brief
Authors
Maki, Justin N.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Thiessen, David L.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Pourangi, Ali M.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Kobzeff, Peter A.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Lee, Steven W.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Dingizian, Arsham
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Schwochert, Mark A.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 27, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 2012
Publication Information
Publication: NASA Tech Briefs, November 2012
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Report/Patent Number
NPO-48550
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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