Rover Camera Coverage

Place cameras on a rover frame, single or stereo and see what ground they cover, in plan, as a 360° panorama and on a 3D cratered ripple terrain. Lens data from the Mars 2020 Camera SIS (D-99960) and the MSL Engineering Camera FDD (D-34213).

Cameras

Rover frame

Six wheels. Chassis base height is measured from the surface to the underside of the chassis. Origin is on the ground under the body centre. +X forward, +Y left, +Z up. The SIS Rover Nav frame is X forward, Y right, Z down, so negate Y and Z to compare.

Terrain

Amplitude is the ripple peak height. Crater depth is a fraction of crater diameter, with a raised rim of 4% of the diameter. The terrain is level at the rover and the craters keep clear of it. The seed sets both the ripples and where the craters sit; the 3D view shows a 50 m square.

Rover attitude on top of the ripples. Positive pitch is nose up; positive roll is right side down.

Range limit (m): ground beyond this is not counted

Scene

Save / load as text
PLAN VIEW · forward is up · drag a camera marker to move it · drag the ground to pan · wheel to zoom
SIDE VIEW · vertical slice through each optical centre · ground profile along the rover centreline

Ground coverage within range limit

Areas are horizontal (plan) area of ground that is in view and not hidden by a ripple. A stereo pair counts as useful only where both eyes see the point. Distances are measured from the point on the ground below the camera.

Mars 2020 Navcam and Hazcam specification

Sources: M2020 Camera Data Products SIS (D-99960 v3.7), Tables 2-2 and 2-3; MSL Engineering Camera Imaging FDD (D-34213, draft of 15 December 2009), sections 4.1.7 and 4.1.8. Fish-eye lenses (both Hazcams and the Mars 2020 Navcam) are modelled with an equidistant projection, image radius = focal length × angle. That reproduces the Mars 2020 Hazcam field of view exactly, the Mars 2020 Navcam to within about 2°, and the MSL Hazcam at 126° against the stated 124°. The MSL Navcam is modelled as a rectilinear lens, which gives 45.4° and a 61.3° diagonal. The MSL detector is 1024 × 1024 imaging pixels; the full frame also carries reference pixels that are not part of the view. Neither document gives exact mounting positions or pointing, so the placements in the starter scene are illustrative. Choosing a lens does not change the separation of an existing stereo pair; new pairs start at the lens baseline.