The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mast Camera Zoom (Mastcam-Z) Multispectral, Stereoscopic Imaging Investigation

Abstract

Mastcam-Z is a multispectral, stereoscopic imaging investigation on the Mars 2020 mission’s Perseverance rover. Mastcam-Z consists of a pair of focusable, 4:1 zoomable cameras that provide broadband red/green/blue and narrowband 400-1000 nm color imaging with fields of view from 25.6° × 19.2° (26 mm focal length at 283 μrad/pixel) to 6.2° × 4.6° (110 mm focal length at 67.4 μrad/pixel). The cameras can resolve (≥ 5 pixels) ∼0.7 mm features at 2 m and ∼3.3 cm features at 100 m distance. Mastcam-Z shares significant heritage with the Mastcam instruments on the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover. Each Mastcam-Z camera consists of zoom, focus, and filter wheel mechanisms and a 1648 × 1214 pixel charge-coupled device detector and electronics. The two Mastcam-Z cameras are mounted with a 24.4 cm stereo baseline and 2.3° total toe-in on a camera plate ∼2 m above the surface on the rover’s Remote Sensing Mast, which provides azimuth and elevation actuation. A separate digital electronics assembly inside the rover provides power, data processing and storage, and the interface to the rover computer. Primary and secondary Mastcam-Z calibration targets mounted on the rover top deck enable tactical reflectance calibration. Mastcam-Z multispectral, stereo, and panoramic images will be used to provide detailed morphology, topography, and geologic context along the rover’s traverse; constrain mineralogic, photometric, and physical properties of surface materials; monitor and characterize atmospheric and astronomical phenomena; and document the rover’s sample extraction and caching locations. Mastcam-Z images will also provide key engineering information to support sample selection and other rover driving and tool/instrument operations decisions.

The dynamic atmospheric and aeolian environment of Jezero crater, Mars

“…Adding RDS and TIRS thus enables MEDA to track the passage of dusty phenomena around, past, and over the rover as a function of time over a large fraction of each sol and to relate this both to meteorological time series and surface changes, which would be impossible with imaging because of the huge amount of resources (cameras, power, and data volume) that would be required. Perseverance also carries the first microphones to operate on Mars, which provide information on turbulence, vortices, and wind activity ( 22 ), and high-resolution cameras including the Navigation cameras (Navcams) and Mastcam-Z, which may be used to image aeolian activity and features, such as dust devils and surface wind streaks ( 23 , 24 ). Most crucially, Jezero crater contains numerous aeolian surface features, imaged both from orbit ( 25 , 26 ) and since landing (see Results), and dozens of examples of aeolian activity have been observed over the first 216 sols of the mission, covering early spring through early summer [areocentric solar longitude ( L s ) ~13° to 105°], as described in detail below.…”

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, MEDA. A Suite of Environmental Sensors for the Mars 2020 Mission

“…As the images will be taken over a narrow range of solar zenith angles using a camera on which dust is expected to accumulate, the retrieval will be a multi-instrument effort. Mastcam-Z (Bell et al 2020) opacities are expected to be calibrated like those from previous missions via Beer-Lambert-Bougher Law. From time to time through the mission, simultaneous measurements will be used for cross-calibration.…”

“…Mastcam-Z (Bell et al. 2020 ) opacities are expected to be calibrated like those from previous missions via Beer-Lambert-Bougher Law. From time to time through the mission, simultaneous measurements will be used for cross-calibration.…”

Design and on-orbit verification of Tianwen-1 multispectral camera

“…其中, 多光谱相机常 常作为重要的载荷搭载在火星车上用于对火星表面的 形貌特征及物质成分分布进行探测. 代表性载荷有火 星探路者任务中的火星探路者成像仪(IMP) [4] 、火星 探测漫游者任务中的全景相机(Pancam) [5] 、火星科学 试验室任务好奇号火星车上的桅杆相机(Mastcam) [6] 和火星2020任务毅力号火星车上的桅杆相机(Mastcam-Z) [7] . 这些载荷都取得了丰硕的成果, 火星探路者 成像仪获取了大量火星表面多光谱图像数据, 对这些 数据的分析发现着陆区表面形貌复杂, 存在由河流、 风成以及撞击等过程运输和改造的岩石所覆盖的山脊 和谷, 包括三种岩石及四种土壤类型 [8] .…”