Mars Hand Lens Imager

The Mars Hand Lens Imager will provide close-up views of microbial-size features. Image credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS

Second only to the rock hammer, the hand lens is an essential tool of human geologists. Usually carried on a string around the person's neck, the hand lens helps a geologist in the field identify the minerals in a rock. The robotic geologist, Mars Science Laboratory, will carry its own equivalent of the geologist's hand lens, the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI).

MAHLI will provide earthbound scientists with close-up views of the minerals, textures, and structures in martian rocks and the surface layer of rocky debris and dust. The self-focusing, roughly 4-centimeter-wide (1.5-inch-wide) camera will take color images of features as small as 12.5 micrometers, smaller than the diameter of a human hair. MAHLI will carry both white light sources, similar to the light from a flashlight, and ultraviolet light sources, similar to the light from a tanning lamp, making the imager functional both day and night. The ultraviolet light will be used to induce fluorescence to help detect carbonate and evaporite minerals, both of which indicate that water helped shape the landscape on Mars.

MAHLI's main objective will be to help the Mars Science Laboratory science team understand the geologic history of the landing site on Mars. MAHLI will also help researchers select samples for further investigation.