• Question: How do the cameras you make for space differ from ones that we usually use on Earth?

    Asked by 11P SHS to Tom on 7 Oct 2015. This question was also asked by 934trn27, Nicola_Leah_Max.
    • Photo: Tom Morse

      Tom Morse answered on 7 Oct 2015:

      Hi 11P SHS,

      They’re not so different as you may expect. They work on the same principles…some optics to focus light onto a sensor, the sensor itself, some electronics to turn the picture into digital data and a cable to get the data out.

      There are just a few more challenges to making it work, so unfortunately we can’t just send up a standard digital camera. There are temperature extremes, the vibration caused by launch, the vacuum, the radiation environment and the fact that it HAS to work first time. All of that leads to some careful planning and lots of testing. FOrtunately we have a team that know about all that stuff to make it happen!

      Good luck,

      Tom

Comments