Journal Article

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

Cluff, N., Bailey, Z. J., Barrington, M., Rice, M. S., Fagents, S., Hayes, A. G., Horgan, B., Bell, J. F., Rojas, C., Proton, J. B., Mehall, G. L., Winhold, A., Joseph, J., Johnson, J. R., Edgett, K. S., Caballo-Perucha, M., Grotzinger, J. P., Sullivan, R., Caplinger, M. A., Schaffner, J. A., Colaprete, A., Maki, J. N., Preusker, F., Gupta, S., Madsen, M. B., Paar, G., Tate, C., Jaumann, R., Schmitz, N., Lemmon, M., Deen, R. G., Cisneros, E., Ehlmann, B. L., Crawford, K., Mehall, L., Cloutis, E., Brylow, S., Robinson, M. S., Jensen, E., Kinch, K. M., Coates, A. J., Traxler, C., Herkenhoff, K. E., Ravine, M. A., Paris, K., Hardgrove, C., Betts, B., Wolff, M. J., Corlies, P.

2021

Overview

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.

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Actuation / Aerospace Technology and Astronautics / Astronomical phenomena / Astrophysics and Astroparticles / Broadband / Caching / Calibration / Cameras / Charge coupled devices / Curiosity (Mars rover) / Data processing / Digital electronics / Electronics / Elevation / Imaging / Mars / Mars missions / Mars rovers / Morphology / Narrowband / Physical properties / Physics / Physics and Astronomy / Pixels / Planetology / Reflectance / Remote sensing / Space Exploration and Astronautics / Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics / Stereoscopy / The Mars 2020 Mission