Just confirmed - I'm giving a talk (working title '33 Cameras - our Eyes on Mars' ) at the Instruments and Imaging section of the BAA who are meeting on May 21st at The Humfrey Rooms, Castilian Terrace, Northampton (Home of the Notts Nat.Hist. and Astro. Soc) - kick off at 11, my talk likely to be the last before lunch - and during lunch (and beyond if necessary) I'll be doing some workshops on MER imagery techniques.

If you're wondering why 33...

10 for each MER (20)
Two on MPF (22)
Three on Sojourner (25)
Two on each Viking Lander (29)
MOC on MGS (30)
Themis on Odyssey (31)
HRSC on MEX (32)

and of course, a look toward HiRISE on MRO (33)

I know I'm missing out the Mariner and Viking orbiter cameras, and others besides - but they're the cool ones

Doug

Actually, there are two cameras each on MGS and Odyssey and three on Mars Express (counting the ability of its OMEGA to build up images).

But I'm just talking about MOC N/A, Themis Vis and HRSC Non SRC I'm ignoring the Viking orbiters and Mariner Orbiters/flybys, and technically I'm cheating as MPF only had one camera, with two sets of optics

My second slide lists the ACTUAL number, which I'm still working on - but the total number of cameras sent to mars will exceed 50 I think.

Doug

That went swimmingly - and probably another talk now scheduled for Rotherham in the near future Was great to meet up with Chris who was there all day - and worryingly was armed with a camera - I'm expecting pictures to appear soon


Doug

I wonder whether the little tethered rover on Mars 3's lander had a camera?

And, indeed, how many cameras were aboard the lander itself!

Are you counting only operational cameras, or cameras which may have become congruent with the surface while retaining some unexpected velocity?

I think you mean "undesired velocity." Expectations, after all, vary with the person doing the expecting. And from what I've read, even several Soviet engineers had less than full confidence in their early Mars landers' abilities to land safely...

-the other Doug

Point taken!

That was indeed the problem with the Soviet philosophy of 'clockwork' spacecraft, without the ability to be re-programmed in flight - imagine if (latterly) the MER software had been firmware, with gears (metaphorical). Would we have seen survival past the first hangup?

Now, as for Beagle 2's Difference Engine (an IBM - Imperial Business Machines) problems, that's another matter!

According to this, the little Mars 2 and 3 hopper-rovers didn't have cameras on them....

Well, I went to Doug's talk on Saturday, and it was excellent. Over an hour, unscripted, and packed wih great information. When he wasn't talking, he was educating people in the use of Photoshop and ptgui.

Well done.

Chris

PS. Other than getting a parking ticket, and some muppet reversing into the front of my car on the way home, a good day....

Come on - where are the embarrasing pics

eek - any damage to the front

I'll put the pics up on my website this evening..

And yes, a six inch long split in the fibreglass . Could mean a whole new clamshell, which is going to cost his insurance a packet...

When it's a fiesta or a mondeo or a civic or something - you go "meh" - but when it's something like yours - it almost hurts

Doug

The damage is cosmetic, but probably expensive. I've had worse - on a trip around Europe 18 months ago, a Dutch Elise drove into the back of me, and did a lot of damage to both of us.

Chris