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Written by Arinze Udenwa
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Tuesday, 01 February 2005 |
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The Microscopic Imager located at the end of
the Instrument Deployment Device |
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Geological survey of the topography is integrated into the mission of
any exploratory rover. Scientists often need to view rock and soil samples
at very high magnifications to aid them in their studies. A specially made
camera whose magnification factor can be varied is mounted on the arm of
the rover and used as a microscope. Stereo images are quite possible by
taking a picture, moving the camera a little and then taking another picture
of the same image or view. These 2D pictures can then be converted to 3D
by using the method described above or by any other method. |
| In our discussions so far, we have focused entirely on
still images. Video images are an essential tool to exploration; they
give people the feeling that they are walking on these strange planets
being explored. A major stumble block has been the issue of the distance
these planets are to Earth. During transmission of any video, there are
likely to be severe distortions of the video feed due to atmospheric interference
and interference from other electronic devices. Video technology is still
being developed to overcome these setbacks. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 February 2005 )
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