Why Space Probes Still Use Black & White Cameras in the 21st Century

Why Space Probes Still Use Black & White Cameras in the 21st Century

Channel:
Subscribers:
1,810,000
Published on ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wah1DbFVFiY



Duration: 15:20
296,722 views
19,741


Scientists put a lot of thought into the design of instruments to send on spacecraft to explore other worlds, they can't change anything once the spacecraft is launched so they need to maximize the science return from their payload where mass limits are critical.
Despite colour cameras being the norm with consumer hardware, there's technical advantages to using completely different technologies for taking images in deep space. Instead of using off the shelf colour cameras the preference is for monochrome image sensors with filter wheels that can be switched through to take multi colour images through a slower, more accurate process.




Other Videos By Scott Manley


2021-03-27Why NASA's First Spaceflight Isn't What Most People Think
2021-03-25Answering Your Questions - Episode #2
2021-03-22The Unluckiest Satellites - Earthquakes, Rockets and Clogged Pipes
2021-03-19SLS Green Run Success, New NASA Admin Named, Super Heavy Booster Stacked
2021-03-15How Amateur Radio Fans Decoded SpaceX's Telemetry & Engineering Video
2021-03-12Asteroid Eating Fungus and NASA's Other New Ideas for Exploring Space
2021-03-09This Year The Space Station Is Getting Its First Major Expansion in a Decade
2021-03-06Answering Questions - Episode 1
2021-03-04SpaceX's Starship SN10 Successfully Lands After Amazing Flight. Dismantles Itself Spectacularly.
2021-03-02Rocket Lab's Neutron Rocket Plans to Compete With Falcon 9
2021-02-27Why Space Probes Still Use Black & White Cameras in the 21st Century
2021-02-23Landing On Mars Like You've Never Seen It Before
2021-02-20Tango Delta - Perseverance Begins Life On Mars
2021-02-16Did An Engine Failure Kill A SpaceX Booster on Its 6th Flight?
2021-02-15Microscope Images Of Molecules Which Give Distant Planetoids Their Red Colour
2021-02-12How Engineers Brought The SOHO Spacecraft Back To Life... for 25 Years.
2021-02-08How NASA's Apollo 14 Fixed A Critical Problem Using 'Keyhole Rocket Surgery'
2021-02-03SpaceX Starship Number 9 Makes Perfect* Flight (*except for the landing which was a huge fireball)
2021-02-02Curiosity's Trek Across Mars
2021-01-29What Does 'Weapons Grade' Mean
2021-01-26SpaceX's Record Breaking* Rideshare Mission Launches 143 Satellites