Curiosity Rover Will Use Space-Proven Sensors To Safely Navigate Surface of Mars
Curiosity Rover Will Use Space-Proven Sensors To Safely Navigate Surface of Mars
Curiosity Rover Will Use Space-Proven Sensors To Safely Navigate Surface of Mars
Curiosity Rover Will Use Space-Proven Sensors to Safely Navigate Surface of Mars
Currently cruising through space at more than 10,000 mph, Mars Science Laboratory is scheduled to touch down on the red planet in August, 2012. The Mars Science Laboratory, the most ambitious Mars rover project to date, was launched on Nov. 26, 2011 and is part of NASAs long-term effort of robotic exploration of Mars. To accomplish its mission of determining whether the landing area has ever had, or still offers, environmental conditions favorable to microbial life, the Mars Science Laboratorys Curiosity rover is tasked with navigating and mapping the rocky Gale crater while avoiding the numerous hazards it will face as it moves across the Martian terrain. Custom-designed CCD (charged couple device) image sensors from Teledyne DALSA (www.teledynedalsa.com) that proved their reliability in the previous Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission will function as the navigational eyes for the rover.
The Hazcams will use visible light to capture threedimensional (3-D) imagery. This imagery will safeguard against the rover getting lost or inadvertently colliding with objects, and it will work in tandem with software that allows the rover to make its own safety choices and to think on its own. The Hazcams also are used by ground operators to drive the vehicle and to operate the robotic arm. The navigation camera (45 degree x 45 degree field of view) unit consists of a stereo pair of black-and-white navigation cameras mounted on the mast (Curiositys neck and head) that will use visible light to gather panoramic, 3-D imagery of the ground near the wheels. Scientists and engineers will make surface navigation plans based on what the images tell them about nearby rocks or other obstacles. The Navcams also are used for onboard obstacle detection.
NASA incorporated ten of these sensors on each of the two Mars Exploration rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which launched in 2003. With the sensors performance and reliability proven on that mission, NASA used this technology again in the Curiositys navigation and hazardavoidance cameras. The CCDs used on the current project were selected from the batch of sensors that performed so well on the Spirit rover and that continue to guide the Opportunity rovers journey across the Martian surface. The Phoenix Mission, which was led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA, also used two MER CCD sensors in its Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) camera. The SSI camera took images of the Martian surface that scientists are using to study the history of water in the Martian arctic, search for evidence of a habitable zone, and assess the biological potential of the ice-soil boundary. Teledyne DALSA engineers continue to design and build imaging sensors at the foundry in Bromont, Qubec. Scientific applications for custom versions of the MER CCD and other Teledyne DALSA aerospace imaging sensors include CCDs for the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera built in cooperation with LBNL and Fermilab and delivery of 10kx10k CCDs to STA for the URAT Camera.
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Teledyne DALSA has its corporate offices in Waterloo, Canada Teledyne DALSA reserves the right to make changes at any time without notice. Teledyne DALSA 2012.