This annotated artists' concept shows the location of all of the Curiosity rover's 17 cameras. "Engineering cameras", such as the navigation and hazard avoidance cameras, are those that help humans on Earth "see" so they can drive the rover across the tough martian terrain. Navigation cameras are placed upon the "head" for a long distance view, while hazard avoidance cameras are placed so they see obstacles right in front of the rover. "Science cameras" are those that are used by the science teams to learn about the chemistry and evolution of martian land forms, from the wide angle, panoramic cameras to the magifying camera at the end of Curiosity's arm.<br>
The rover's mast features seven cameras: the Remote Micro Imager, part of the Chemistry and Camera suite; four black-and-white Navigation Cameras (two on the left and two on the right) and two color Mast Cameras (Mastcams). The left Mastcam has a 34-millimeter lens and the right Mastcam has a 100-millimeter lens. There is one camera on the end of a robotic arm that is stowed in this graphic; it is called the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). There are nine cameras hard-mounted to the rover: two pairs of black-and-white Hazard Avoidance Cameras in the front, another two pair mounted to the rear of the rover, (dashed arrows in the graphic) and the color Mars Descent Imager (MARDI).
NASA/Malin Space Science Systems
2012-08-03
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