First Selfie
Contributed by Alex Hayes
Mastcam-Z acquired its first selfie at the end of pre-flight calibration at Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego in May 2019. The flight cameras can be seen in the larger mirror, held inside the calibration cleanroom by MastcamZ PI Jim Bell from ASU. Deputy-PI Justin Maki from JPL is holding the smaller mirror in the back. I am the Calibration Lead for the cameras, and I’m on the far right. On the left is calibration engineer Andy Winhold from ASU. Members of the Mastcam-Z science and engineering teams, including a number of students and researchers from a variety of Universities and Labs around the world, can be seen in the mirror reflections looking into the clean room through a window in the adjacent control room. This is one of my favorite photos from Mastcam-Z because it shows so many of the people that came together to make these cameras the best they can be. It is also rare and special for flight instruments to take selfies!
May 24, 2019