Am 10.08.2012 20:28, schrieb Stephen:

>> kidding aside, why in 2012 we still need to look at B&W photographs
>> from outer
>> space?
>>
>>
> Bandwidth, old chap.


More likely payload weight. That thing has plenty of cameras on board - 
many of them designed for special purposes for which resolution is more 
important than color. This particular one, for instance, is intended for 
navigation purposes - most likely a wide-angle camera; but the 
scientists have enough panorama color shots from the Mars surface 
already, so they went for the lighter alternative, and only have color 
on some other camera designed for close-up shots (as close as 2 cm or 
so; it can focus at infinity as well though). We'll see full-res shots 
from that camera in due time.

Remember, this is not a sightseeing trip - it's scientific exploration.

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