NASA improved autofocus on Mars rover Curiosity via software update

NASA has successfully upgraded the Curiosity rover currently on Mars. This allows the cart to better focus its camera for the chemical analysis of materials.

NASA confirmed the successful software update on its website. Curiosity has a device, the so-called ChemCam, on board with which the chemical composition of materials can be analyzed. It works with a laser that has to be focused on the material to be analysed. According to NASA, the software for the automatic ‘focusing’ did not work properly, so it was decided to create new software.

Through what can be called an ‘over-the-space’ update, Curiosity’s software was renewed. The operation turned out to be a success: the ChemCam can now select the best focus distance itself and on that basis generate data for chemical analysis. According to NASA, the photos that Curiosity takes have also been improved with the new software. Curiosity does this by first taking a number of focus distances and then selecting the one that provides the best focus.

This perhaps somewhat cumbersome work-around is necessary because the original autofocus method of the Mars rover no longer works. Initially, a special laser was available for this that could measure the distance to the object, but this ‘rangefinder’ has broken down. So NASA had to come up with something else.

Curiosity is researching the Martian surface to find out if there are traces of life. At the end of last year, building blocks were found that indicate that life forms may have existed in the past, although there is no concrete evidence yet.