Mastcam-Z is the highest-resolution color imaging system yet sent to the surface of Mars. This page features photos of the team working on the design, fabrication, and testing of the cameras.
The scientific eyes of NASA’s Perseverance rover
Mastcam-Z is a multi-color, stereo imaging system on NASA’s Perseverance rover. Mastcam-Z can zoom from wide angle to telephoto, take 3-D images and videos, and take photos in up to 11 unique colors, including “human-like” red/green/blue. For those who want more technical details and background about the Mastcam-Z cameras and science investigation, these pages provide lots more information about the goals, design, testing, and performance of the cameras.
Behind the science
The Mastcam-Z investigation has three primary goals:
- Characterize the overall landscape geomorphology, processes, and the nature of the geologic record (mineralogy, texture, structure, and stratigraphy) at the rover field site;
- Assess current atmospheric and astronomical conditions, events, and surface-atmosphere interactions and processes;
- Provide operational support and scientific context for rover navigation, contact science, sample selection, extraction, and caching, as well as imaging support for the other Mars 2020 instruments and rover tools.
Mastcam-Z Instrument Photo Gallery
The Mission
The Mars 2020 mission and its Perseverance rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The Mars 2020 mission addresses high-priority science goals for Mars exploration, including seeking signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past, and represents the first step in a multi-mission, international robotic Mars sample return program.