The Phoenix Mars lander which touched down on the red planet last Sunday not only demonstrates the leading edge in rocket science but of photography as well. Its robotic arm camera is the first motor-adjustable focusing system to be deployed on an inter-planetary spacecraft, according to NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Phoenix’s robotic arm camera enables close-up color photography of Martian soil and ice samples, key factors that could establish whether the planet could support life.
NASA explains that the camera has a double Gauss lens system, a design commonly used in 35mm cameras. It can focus down to 11mm and record images at a resolution of ’23 microns per pixel’ at the closest focusing distance – allowing the camera to show details much finer than the width of a human hair.
The images are being beamed back to earth in what amounts to be the most sophisticated Wi-Fi connection today.
[Via: Amateur Photographer]
Photo Illustration: NASA