Mars Through Curiosity'sPowerful MAHLI Camera
Mars Through Curiosity's Powerful MAHLI Camera:
Photos
JAN 14, 2013 // BY IAN O'NEILL
Photos
JAN 14, 2013 // BY IAN O'NEILL
MAHLI Power
Since NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity landed on the red planet, each sol (a Martian "day") of the mission sees a flood of new photographs from Aeolis Palus -- the plain inside Gale Crater where Curiosity landed on Aug. 5. In September 2012, mission controllers sent the command for Curiosity to flip open the dust cap in front of the robotic arm-mounted Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). Until that point, the semi-transparent dust cap only allowed MAHLI to make out fuzzy shapes -- although it did a greatjob imaging Curiosity's "head" and it is also famous for capturing Curiosity's first color photograph.
But since the true clarity of MAHLI has been unleashed, we've been treated to some of the most high- resolution views of the rover, Martian landscape and, most importantly, we've seen exactly what MAHLI was designed to do:
Look closely at Mars rocks and dirt, assembling geological evidence of potential past habitability of Mars.
But since the true clarity of MAHLI has been unleashed, we've been treated to some of the most high- resolution views of the rover, Martian landscape and, most importantly, we've seen exactly what MAHLI was designed to do:
Look closely at Mars rocks and dirt, assembling geological evidence of potential past habitability of Mars.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Business End
Curiosity is armed with 17 cameras and MAHLI is designed to capture close-up photos of geological samples and formations as the rover explores. MAHLI was designed and built by Malin Space Science Systems and is analogous to a geologist's hand lens -- only a lot more sophisticated. Its high- resolution system can focus and magnify objects as small as 12.5 micrometers (that's smaller than the width of a human hair!). This photograph captured by the rover's Mastcam shows the MAHLI lens (with dust cap in place) in the center of the end of Curiosity's instrument-laden robotic arm.
Curiosity is armed with 17 cameras and MAHLI is designed to capture close-up photos of geological samples and formations as the rover explores. MAHLI was designed and built by Malin Space Science Systems and is analogous to a geologist's hand lens -- only a lot more sophisticated. Its high- resolution system can focus and magnify objects as small as 12.5 micrometers (that's smaller than the width of a human hair!). This photograph captured by the rover's Mastcam shows the MAHLI lens (with dust cap in place) in the center of the end of Curiosity's instrument-laden robotic arm.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Lights On!
To aid its studies, MAHLI is
equipped with four LEDs to light up
the imager's samples.
Lights On!
To aid its studies, MAHLI is
equipped with four LEDs to light up
the imager's samples.
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