Ohara Glass Lands on Mars

The Perseverance Rover landed on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021.

Ohara is proud to be a supplier of precision optical glass blanks used in the optical elements for several of the cameras on the Nasa 2020 Mars Perseverance Rover, including Mastcam-Z and SHERLOC. The Perseverance Rover landed on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021.

The photo below provides an overview of the 23 main camera systems on the Mars Perseverance Rover:

Ohara Glass Lands on Mars

Credit: NASA

Mastcam-Z

Mastcam-Z is the name of the mast-mounted camera system that can zoom in, focus, and take 3D pictures and video at high speed to allow detailed examination of distant objects. Mastcam-Z serves as the Perseverance Rover’s main “eyes.”

Mastcam Z - Mars
Where is Mastcam-Z Located?
Mars - MastCam-Z Where is it?

Mars 2020’s Mastcam-Z: The twin Mastcam-Z cameras, are assembled and ready for testing in this photo taken at Malin Space Science Systems, in San Diego, Ca. Credit: MSSS/ASU.

SHERLOC is the acronym for the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals instrument. Mounted on the Mars Rover’s robotic arm, SHERLOC uses cameras, spectrometers, and a laser to search for organics and minerals that have been altered by watery environments. SHERLOC will look for possible evidence of past life on Mars.

Mars - SHERLOCK
Where is SHERLOCK Located?
Mars - SHERLOCK - Where is it?

Mars 2020’s SHERLOC Instrument: A close-up view of an engineering model of SHERLOC, one the instruments aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.