The capabilities of a UCL-led panoramic camera system that will guide the search for life on Mars atop the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover are being tested ahead of the rover's launch next year. A replica of the rover and the Panoramic Camera suite known as PanCam are being used to test the wide range of photo settings - from panoramas to close-ups, from 3D maps to wheel selfies - that will deliver the greatest science possible during the ExoMars mission on the Red Planet. The tests have been carried out using the Ground Test Model rover at the Mars Terrain Simulator at the ALTEC premises in Turin, Italy. Professor Andrew Coates (UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory), PanCam principal investigator, said: "Since we will be looking for water and life on Mars , t'esting Rosalind Franklin's main cameras is particularly important in the search for water - rich minerals." PanCam does not have just one pair, but three "science eyes": one high-resolution and two wide-angle cameras. Their unique colour imaging, explains Professor Coates, allows for "water-rich mineral identification and outstanding 3D vision , way better than human eyes". " The views from PanCam will give us key insights on the martian landscape. " Science on top - Engineers have packed as much science as they could into the camera system.
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