James Cameron's 3D Cam on Mars Idea Gets Axed

[JMcEntegart]

Last May, word got out that NASA had agreed to send a 3D camera to Mars on the next Rover. Director James Cameron had lobbied NASA administrator Charles Bolden for inclusion of the 3D camera...

James Cameron's 3D Cam on Mars Idea Gets Axed : Read more

 

[killerclick]

Fad.

 

[darkguset]

A 3D camera would probably cost too much to test/install/etc etc, rather than sending something more useful right now. Perhaps in a future mission...

 

[belardo]

When sending a probe or bot to another planet... there is a LONG testing phase.

A small failure billions of miles away is DIFFICULT to fix... if at all.

For a future mission, the 3D cameras will be tested, etc.

not a big deal, just unfortunate.

 

[allrock]

Quite a few people where looking fowared to having a probe with stereoscopic vision on the mars mission its too bad they decided not to include the feature

 

[ericburnby]

Cameron's habit of going over budget and beyond deadlines?

How about his habit of producing success after success after smashing success?

 

[memadmax]

Well, they could piggy back the 3D cam with the approved Cam. That way if the 3D cam fails or does something its not supposed to, it will be inconsequential and just be disconnected while the main cam chugs along.

 

[mman74]

They say that every Kg uses at least 3 tonnes of fuel. What is wrong with their current cameras and how much of a price are you willing to pay to "connect with the public"?

 

[sseyler]

Whoever wrote this article needs some practice in concise writing:

James Cameron, who is listed as “Mastcam Co-Investigator,” said that while it may not be Curiosity that brings 3D cameras into space, he does think the technology will feature in future missions.

"While Curiosity won't benefit from the 3D motion imaging that the zooms enable, I'm certain that this technology will play an important role in future missions," said Mastcam Co-Investigator James Cameron.

These two paragraphs are remarkably redundant...

 

[sseyler]

[citation][nom]sseyler[/nom]Whoever wrote this article needs some practice in concise writing:These two paragraphs are remarkably redundant...[/citation]

My apologies for how harsh this sounds.

 

[Guest]

We all should know by now NASA is a military institution despite its public front hr machine, regardless of what most people seem to believe NASA are hiding things from the public, last thing they would want is too have a 3D camera exposing their secrets on Mars

 

[aaron88_7]

[citation][nom]leaks[/nom]We all should know by now NASA is a military institution despite its public front hr machine, regardless of what most people seem to believe NASA are hiding things from the public, last thing they would want is too have a 3D camera exposing their secrets on Mars[/citation]
Like the secret that Mars is a desolate and inhospitable planet unfit for life? I'm not sure what you are suggesting NASA has to hide about Mars, but the 3D camera is a valiant pitch at bringing some interest to what is essentially a big, dusty, barren planet.

I've seen a lot of pictures of Mars taken from the past rover missions, and while that stuff completely fascinates myself, most people don't see anything interesting about these pictures and blurry video. Bringing back high quality 3D video of the landscape would certainly open up Mars interest beyond nerds like myself.

Hopefully the camera they go with will be capable of sending back high quality video. If this rover lasts as long as the previous rover missions it may be our best eyes on our distance neighbor for years to come.

 

[lamorpa]

[citation][nom]leaks[/nom]We all should know by now NASA is a military institution despite its public front hr machine, regardless of what most people seem to believe NASA are hiding things from the public, last thing they would want is too have a 3D camera exposing their secrets on Mars[/citation]
You may find a better place to direct your paranoid conspiracy theories to be the Kennedy assassination or Area 51.

 

[dsdsds]

3D does not bring any scientific value to the mission. As far as "the public connecting" with the mission, many of us don't need 3D effects to "connect" to science. The rest of the public can wait for the Titanic sequel to be entertained.

 

[Silmarunya]

A 3D camera does not belong on a NASA Mars rover (yet). Capturing and transferring data in space is hard enough as it is and a 3D camera raises even more issues.

Besides, the Mars mission are scientific in nature. As nice as 3D images of Mars might be, there are more useful tools to gather scientific data.

Bringing space exploration to a wide audience isn't the mission of a mission like this one. People that care for space exploration or science in general already follow the Mars missions and those who don't care... well... don't.

Attracting those who couldn't care less about science takes epic, impressive things like the Apollo project.

 

[lamorpa]

[citation][nom]Silmarunya[/nom]A 3D camera does not belong on a NASA Mars rover (yet). [/citation]

Um, Viking I and II probes sent stereoscopic 3D pictures back from the surface of Mars in 1976...

 

[wiyosaya]

To me, it seems like a 3D camera would offer questionable scientific value - at best - on a mission like this. Seems like the space occupied and weight of the camera could both be better utilized with another, more scientific package.

 

[fayzaan]

What the hell are they going to prove with 3D pictures? that mars is round? bwahahahha

 

[Shodar]

Cameron just wants realistic footage of Mars for his next big space movie, thats all.

 

[ericburnby]

If it's my tax dollars paying for the mission then they should do a little extra to give something back the "regular guy" can appreciate.