Avatar visionary recruited for new Mars mission

by Stevie Smith - Apr 30 2010, 15:50

So, the 3D inspiration behind James Cameron’s Avatar amounts to nothing more than a flash-in-the-pan Hollywood gimmick that will never be taken seriously, eh?

Not so if you happen to be NASA and need to tap the visionary director’s technological knowledge to help advance the capabilities of a future space mission.

More pointedly, James Cameron (Aliens, The Terminator) has been recruited by the U.S. space administration to help it create a new high-resolution 3D camera for use on Curiosity, the next generation of Mars rover.

Rather than merely being drafted in to provide his expertise regarding the new 3D cameras he developed for Avatar, Cameron actively approached NASA upon learning that Curiosity’s 3D camera had been abandoned in 2007 due to budgetary constraints.

According to a report in the Pasadena Star News, Cameron contacted NASA administrator Charles Bolden and advised him that the addition of a 3D camera aboard Curiosity would magnify public interest in the exploration project. Clearly Bolden agreed.

NASA’s Curiosity rover will capture footage at 10 frames per second, after which mission controllers will then process the data into moving three-dimensional images.

Curiosity is expected to launch on its journey to Mars some time during 2011.

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