One of the instruments I am most excited for on Perseverance is Mastcam-Z. Here's a little bit about this fancy camera! THREAD

NASA/JPL-Caltech

In many ways, Mastcam-Z builds upon its Curiosity-mounted predecessor, Mastcam. They're both pairs of stereoscopic multi-spectral cameras mounted on the rover's mast.

But Mastcam-Z has some important upgrades!

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Curiosity was intended to have zoom capability, but this was de-scoped during the development process.

Its lenses ended up with a different focal lengths (34mm & 100mm) to operate at different distances.

You can see the difference in the hardware!

NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL

Perseverance will restore some of that functionality, with two identical cameras with 3.6:1 zoom capability.

This will allow it to create some truly fantastic 3D images at various distances!

Plus - video!!!

MSSS/ASU

Mastcam-Z is also equipped with more filters in each camera than Mastcam, allowing it to photograph rocks in different wavelengths of light. This brings out different feaures for better scientific study.

Here's Curiosity's filter wheel to give you an idea.

Like any instrument, Mastcam-Z will periodically need calibration, and Perseverance is equipped with this awesome calibration target for this purpose.

It has a dinosaur on it, among other things!

If you want to learn more about Mastcam-Z, I spoke with scientist Melissa Rice ( @martian_mel) and engineer Elsa Jensen about the instrument here!

Can't wait to see this camera land on Thursday! Be sure to join us for our livestream! https://www.wemartians.com/podcasts/48-zooming-in-on-mars-feat-melissa-rice-and-elsa-jensen