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WATERLOO – After landing in a crater filled with sand on Mars, NASA's InSight lander has returned photographs to Earth using technology designed and manufactured by Teledyne Dalsa.
The Waterloo-based company is a global leader in digital imaging and semiconductors, and the InSight lander marks the fifth time that NASA has used its technology for a mission on Mars.
"This is a very good achievement for us," said Robert Groulx, Image Sensor Product Manager. "Everyone here is happy about that."
Teledyne Dalsa manufactures CCD sensors at its Bromont, Quebec plant. Thirty people working on the Mars project met Monday afternoon in the cafeteria of the company to attend the screening of the film InSight on the Red Planet. Shortly after landing on what is called Elysium Planitia or the Equatorial Plain, he returned images from two cameras.
The CCD image sensors are about the size of a postage stamp, but they play an important role in the $ 850 million mission on Mars.
A camera is mounted near the bottom of the LG InSight. Scientists will use the images from this camera to see the instruments that will bury the planet to measure internal temperatures and record movements in the Earth's crust.
The data will help scientists better understand the internal structure of Mars. InSight is the abbreviation for Inland Exploration using seismic surveys, geodesy and heat transport.
The second camera is mounted on the mast and will take 120-degree panoramic photos of the surface around the InSight lander. The images from this camera will help ground crews decide where to place the instruments that will collect the data.
The devices convert light into electrical signals that travel 54.6 million kilometers to Earth, where they are converted into digital images. It only has one megapixel because it is harder to return larger, higher resolution files.
CCD is the abbreviation of coupled device loaded. This is a type of rugged semiconductor used for image processing. This is not a new technology, but it can withstand the violent jolts of takeoffs and intense solar radiation. The sensors must also operate at temperatures around -60 C at the equator Mars in winter.
"It is an old technology, but a very good technology," Groulx said.
NASA used Teledyne Dalsa sensors for Mars missions in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012, as well as for the current version with red, green and blue color filters. On two of the previous missions, the sensors worked for 10 years.
"So they were very satisfied with the quality of the image sensor," Groulx said. "That's why they decided to use our sensor again for the InSight mission."
Consumer electronics such as smartphones and DSLR cameras also feature image processing sensors. Consumer versions are called CMOS, abbreviation for complementary metal oxide semiconductor, which also transform light into electrical signals creating digital images. CMOS sensors are not robust enough for space travel.
Twitter: @PenderRecord
Twitter: @PenderRecord
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