Optomechanical design of 10 modular cameras for the Mars exploration rovers

The 2003 mission to Mars includes two Rovers, which will land on the Martian surface. Each Rover carries 9 cameras of 4 different designs. In addition, one similar camera is mounted to each lander assembly to monitor the descent and provide information for firing the control jets during landing. This paper will discuss the mechanical systems design of the cameras, including fabrication tolerances of the lenses, thermal issues, radiation shielding, planetary protection, detector mounting, electronics, the modularity achieved, and how the 10 different locations were accommodated on the very tight real estate of the Rovers and Landers.