NASA’s next Mars rover has 23 cameras

NASA has released details about the next Mars rover, which is scheduled to orbit the red planet from 2021. The explorer has 23 cameras, including 9 that take color photos with a 20-megapixel resolution.

The cameras on the new Mars rover are largely improved variants of the cameras on Curiosity, according to the American space agency NASA. That is the current Mars rover, which has been on Mars since August 2012. Both the Navcams and Hazcams, which are used for navigation, are now color cameras with a 20-megapixel sensor. The older Mars rovers used 1-megapixel cameras with a black-and-white sensor for that application. In addition, the new cameras have lenses with a wider angle of view.

With the current Curiosity, photos in a high resolution were also made by stitching different photos together. Because the new rover will have much higher resolution cameras, such photos can be taken with less motion blur and it will be possible to shoot high-resolution images while the explorer is moving. The 20-megapixel cameras capture images with dimensions of 5120×3840 pixels and weigh less than 425 grams each.

Seven cameras are provided to record the descent and landing of the rover. These are also used to aid in landing navigation based on terrain. Furthermore, the rover has several scientific cameras, including Sherloc and Watson working together.

Equipped with a spectrometer and a laser, the Sherloc camera can take extreme close-up photos. The Watson camera takes pictures with a wider angle of view than the Sherloc, so that the context of the close-up is visible. The Watson camera can be moved over the robot arm and can be used to photograph different parts of the rover.

In many ways, the new Mars rover is similar to Curiosity. That Mars rover is therefore very successful; he is still active after more than five years on the red planet, while the mission’s goal was to explore Mars for two years. By keeping the design comparable, the costs and risks of the mission are relatively low.

The new Mars rover gets a drill with which samples are taken. These are then stored in a repository on the planet. In potential future missions, the monsters could then be taken back to Earth. The mission has several goals: to determine if there has been life on Mars, to characterize the climate and geology, and to prepare manned Mars missions.

The plan is to launch the new Mars rover sometime in July or August 2020. At that point, Earth and Mars are in a favorable position relative to each other for a successful Mars landing. The landing would take place in February 2021. The goal is for the new Mars rover to travel around Mars for at least one year. That corresponds to about 687 days on Earth.