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Perseverance Rover Mastcam-Z Stories
The Planetary Society is an education and outreach partner for the Mastcam-Z instrument on NASA's Perseverance rover. Former Planetary Society President Jim Bell is the instrument's principal investigator and Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts is the EPO lead.
Mastcam-Z is a color stereo camera system with a zoom capability never included on a Mars rover. It will produce stunning, 3-D images from the surface, and includes a range of filters carefully selected for geologic studies. The zoom capability will help in the planning of drives for the rover.
Recent stories from the Mastcam-Z team
The Mastcam-Z Filter Set
Learn how NASA's Perseverance rover will see the colors of Mars.
Here's How Scientists Mapped the Perseverance Rover's Landing Site
The maps will help plan scientific field trips for the rover as it explores an ancient river delta.
How to Send a Camera to Mars
The next Martian explorer, Mars 2020, currently exists as a robotic skeleton at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Teams across the world are working diligently to construct the instruments that will adorn the rover, inside and out, and thereby give it the tools it needs to explore.
Practicing Mars 2020 rover operations, on Earth
Jeff Johnson files a report from ROASTT, the Rover Operations Activities for Science Team Training.
Press inquiries
For inquiries related to The Planetary Society's participation in Mastcam-Z, please contact [email protected].
Learn more about Perseverance
NASA's Perseverance rover is searching for past life on Mars and collecting samples for future return to Earth.
Planetary Radio
Listen to our most recent episodes of Planetary Radio about Mastcam-Z!
Image gallery
Want more Mastcam-Z?
To learn more about Mastcam-Z and see additional resources from the team, visit the official instrument website at Arizona State University.