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Nikon FM compact has simplification feature derived from cameras designed for easy, yet accurate use in a weightless environment. Innovation is a plastic-cushioned advance lever which advances the film and simultaneously switches on a built in light meter. With a turn of the lens aperture ring, a glowing signal in viewfinder confirms correct exposure.
Handheld astronaut photography of the Earth has been collected from the International Space Station (ISS) since 2000, making it the most temporally extensive remotely sensed dataset from this unique Low Earth orbital platform. Exclusive use of digital handheld cameras to perform Earth observations from the ISS began in 2004. Nadir viewing imagery is constrained by the inclined equatorial orbit of the ISS to between 51.6 degrees North and South latitude, however numerous oblique images of land surfaces above these latitudes are included in the dataset. While unmodified commercial off-the-shelf digital cameras provide only visible wavelength, three-band spectral information of limited quality current cameras used with long (400+ mm) lenses can obtain high quality spatial information approaching 2 meters/ground pixel resolution. The dataset is freely available online at the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth site (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov), and now comprises over 2 million images. Despite this extensive image catalog, use of the data for scientific research, disaster response, commercial applications and visualizations is minimal in comparison to other data collected from free-flying satellite platforms such as Landsat, Worldview, etc. This is due primarily to the lack of fully-georeferenced data products - while current digital cameras typically have integrated GPS, this does not function in the Low Earth Orbit environment. The Earth Science and Remote Sensing (ESRS) Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center provides training in Earth Science topics to ISS crews, performs daily operations and Earth observation target delivery to crews through the Crew Earth Observations (CEO) Facility on board ISS, and also catalogs digital handheld imagery acquired from orbit by manually adding descriptive metadata and determining an image geographic centerpoint using visual feature matching with other georeferenced data, e.g. Landsat, Google Earth, etc. The lack of full geolocation information native to the data makes it difficult to integrate astronaut photographs with other georeferenced data to facilitate quantitative analysis such as urban land cover/land use classification, change detection, or geologic mapping. The manual determination of image centerpoints is both time and labor-intensive, leading to delays in releasing geolocated and cataloged data to the public, such as the timely use of data for disaster response. The GeoCam Space project was funded by the ISS Program in 2015 to develop an on-orbit hardware and ground-based software system for increasing the efficiency of geolocating astronaut photographs from the ISS (Fig. 1). The Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames Research Center leads the development of both the ground and on-orbit systems in collaboration with the ESRS Unit. The hardware component consists of modified smartphone elements including cameras, central processing unit, wireless Ethernet, and an inertial measurement unit (gyroscopes/accelerometers/magnetometers) reconfigured into a compact unit that attaches to the base of the current Nikon D4 camera - and its replacement, the Nikon D5 - and connects using the standard Nikon peripheral connector or USB port. This provides secondary, side and downward facing cameras perpendicular to the primary camera pointing direction. The secondary cameras observe calibration targets with known internal X, Y, and Z position affixed to the interior of the ISS to determine the camera pose corresponding to each image frame. This information is recorded by the GeoCam Space unit and indexed for correlation to the camera time recorded for each image frame. Data - image, EXIF header, and camera pose information - is transmitted to the ground software system (GeoRef) using the established Ku-band USOS downlink system. Following integration on the ground, the camera pose information provides an initial geolocation estimate for the individual film frame. This new capability represents a significant advance in geolocation from the manual feature-matching approach for both nadir and off-nadir viewing imagery. With the initial geolocation estimate, full georeferencing of an image is completed using the rapid tie-pointing interface in GeoRef, and the resulting data is added to the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth online database in both Geotiff and Keyhole Markup Language (kml) formats. The integration of the GeoRef software component of Geocam Space into the CEO image cataloging workflow is complete, and disaster response imagery acquired by the ISS crew is now fully georeferenced as a standard data product. The on-orbit hardware component (GeoSens) is in final prototyping phase, and is on-schedule for launch to the ISS in late 2016. Installation and routine use of the Geocam Space system for handheld digital camera photography from the ISS is expected to significantly improve the usefulness of this unique dataset for a variety of public- and private-sector applications.
Summary of Test Results: Thermal Vacuum: The Canon R5 (mirrorless) and Nikon D6 (DSLR) showed similar operational characteristics from -30C to +40C in a vacuum. Both cameras survived thermal vacuum testing. (Nikon Z9 was not available at the time vacuum testing occurred). Radiation: Read capability of 4 CFExpress cards was tested in proton environment.
Nikon's F3 35mm camera was specially modified for use by Space Shuttle astronauts. The modification work produced a spinoff lubricant. Because lubricants in space have a tendency to migrate within the camera, Nikon conducted extensive development to produce nonmigratory lubricants; variations of these lubricants are used in the commercial F3, giving it better performance than conventional lubricants. Another spinoff is the coreless motor which allows the F3 to shoot 140 rolls of film on one set of batteries.
Scientists from the Image Science and Analysis Laboratory (ISAL) at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) work with astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) who take images of Earth. Astronaut photographs, sometimes referred to as Crew Earth Observations, are taken using hand-held digital cameras onboard the ISS. These digital images allow scientists to study our Earth from the unique perspective of space. Astronauts have taken images of Earth since the 1960s. There is a database of over 900,000 astronaut photographs available at http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov . Images are requested by ISAL scientists at JSC and astronauts in space personally frame and acquire them from the Destiny Laboratory or other windows in the ISS. By having astronauts take images, they can specifically frame them according to a given request and need. For example, they can choose to use different lenses to vary the amount of area (field of view) an image will cover. Images can be taken at different times of the day which allows different lighting conditions to bring out or highlight certain features. The viewing angle at which an image is acquired can also be varied to show the same area from different perspectives. Pointing the camera straight down gives you a nadir shot. Pointing the camera at an angle to get a view across an area would be considered an oblique shot. Being able to change these variables makes astronaut photographs a unique and useful data set. Astronaut photographs are taken from the ISS from altitudes of 300 - 400 km (~185 to 250 miles). One of the current cameras being used, the Nikon D3X digital camera, can take images using a 50, 100, 250, 400 or 800mm lens. These different lenses allow for a wider or narrower field of view. The higher the focal length (800mm for example) the narrower the field of view (less area will be covered). Higher focal lengths also show greater detail of the area on the surface being imaged. Scientists from the Image Science and Analysis Laboratory (ISAL) at NASA s Johnson Space Center (JSC) work with astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) who take images of Earth. Astronaut photographs, sometimes referred to as Crew Earth Observations, are taken using hand-held digital cameras onboard the ISS. These digital images allow scientists to study our Earth from the unique perspective of space. Astronauts have taken images of Earth since the 1960s. There is a database of over 900,000 astronaut photographs available at http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov . Images are requested by ISAL scientists at JSC and astronauts in space personally frame and acquire them from the Destiny Laboratory or other windows in the ISS. By having astronauts take images, they can specifically frame them according to a given request and need. For example, they can choose to use different lenses to vary the amount of area (field of view) an image will cover. Images can be taken at different times of the day which allows different lighting conditions to bring out or highlight certain features. The viewing angle at which an image is acquired can also be varied to show the same area from different perspectives. Pointing the camera straight down gives you a nadir shot. Pointing the camera at an angle to get a view across an area would be considered an oblique shot. Being able to change these variables makes astronaut photographs a unique and useful data set. Astronaut photographs are taken from the ISS from altitudes of 300 - 400 km (approx.185 to 250 miles). One of the current cameras being used, the Nikon D3X digital camera, can take images using a 50, 100, 250, 400 or 800mm lens. These different lenses allow for a wider or narrower field of view. The higher the focal length (800mm for example) the narrower the field of view (less area will be covered). Higher focal lengths also show greater detail of the area on the surface being imaged. There are four major systems or spheres of Earth. They are: Atmosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphe, and Litho/Geosphere.
This paper reports further progress on photography of faint astronomical and geophysical phenomena accomplished during the recent Apollo missions. Command module pilots have been able to photograph such astronomical objects as the solar corona, zodiacal light-corona transition region, lunar libration region, and portions of the Milky Way. The methods utilized for calibration of the film by adaptation of the High Altitude Observatory sensitometer are discussed. Kodak 2485 high-speed recording film was used in both 35-mm and 70-mm formats. The cameras used were Nikon f/1.2 55-mm focal length and Hasselblad f/2.8 80-mm focal length. Preflight and postflight calibration exposures were included on both the flight and control films, corresponding to luminances extending from the inner solar corona to as faint as 1/10 of the luminance of the light of the night sky. The photographs obtained from unique vantage points available during lunar orbit are discussed.
The removal of the lens induced vignetting from a selected sample of the Apollo low light level photographs is discussed. The methods used were developed earlier. A study of the effect of noise on vignetting removal and the comparability of the Apollo 35mm Nikon lens vignetting was also undertaken. The vignetting removal was successful to about 10% photometry, and noise has a severe effect on the useful photometric output data. Separate vignetting functions must be used for different flights since the vignetting function varies from camera to camera in size and shape.
The Skylab 4 Visual Observations Project was undertaken to determine the ways in which man can contribute to future earth-orbital observational programs. The premission training consisted of 17 hours of lectures by scientists representing 16 disciplines and provided the crewmen information on observational and photographic procedures and the scientific significance of this information. During the Skylab 4 mission, more than 850 observations and 2000 photographs with the 70-millimeter Hasselblad and 35-millimeter Nikon cameras were obtained for many investigative areas. Preliminary results of the project indicate that man can obtain new and unique information to support satellite earth-survey programs because of his inherent capability to make selective observations, to integrate the information, and to record the data by describing and photographing the observational sites.
This microprocessor system was designed to control and annotate a Nikon 35 mm camera for the purpose of obtaining photographs and data at predefined time intervals. The single STD BUSS interface card was designed in such a way as to allow it to be used in either a stand alone application with minimum features or installed in a STD BUSS computer allowing for maximum features. This control system also allows the exposure of twenty eight alpha/numeric characters across the bottom of each photograph. The data contains such information as camera identification, frame count, user defined text, and time to .01 second.
A series of preflight, inflight, and postflight vestibular experiments were conducted on Spacelab missions SL-1 and D-1. Two portions of the investigation, the 'sled' and 'dome' functional objectives, involved recording the torsional motion of human subject's eyes. In the SL-1 sled and dome experiments, preflight and postflight ocular torsion was recorded on 35 mm film using a Nikon motor driven camera (2.6 frames/sec). The film was to be analyzed by measuring the motion of contact lens landmarks using a Hermes senior film scanner. However, an inflight failure of the dome experiment camera flash unit led the crew to utilize the Spacelab video camera as an alternative contingency method for imaging the eye in this FO. A suitable method for analysis of the video data was developed. Results of the analysis are presented.
This project evaluated the suitability of the NASA/JSC developed electronic still camera (ESC) digital image data for Earth observations from the Space Shuttle, as a first step to aid planning for Space Station Freedom. Specifically, image resolution achieved from the Space Shuttle using the current ESC system, which is configured with a Loral 15 mm x 15 mm (1024 x 1024 pixel array) CCD chip on the focal plane of a Nikon F4 camera, was compared to that of current handheld 70 mm Hasselblad 500 EL/M film cameras.
This paper describes to relationship of polarimetric observations from orbital and aerial platforms and the determination optimum sun-target-sensor geometry. Polarimetric observations were evaluated for feature discrimination. The Space Shuttle experiment was performed using two boresighted Hasselblad 70 mm cameras with identical settings with linear polarizing filters aligned orthogonally about the optic axis. The aerial experiment was performed using a single 35 mm Nikon FE2 and rotating the linear polarizing filter 90 deg to acquire both minimum and maximum photographs. Characteristic curves were created by covertype and waveband for both aerial and Space Shuttle imagery. Though significant differences existed between the two datasets, the observed polarimetric signatures were unique and separable.
The authors report on the advantages and disadvantages of a number of camera systems which are currently employed for space shuttle remote sensing operations. Systems discussed include the modified Hasselbad, the Rolleiflex 6008, the Linkof 5-inch format system, and the Nikon F3/F4 systems. Film/filter combinations (color positive films, color infrared films, color negative films and polarization filters) are presented.
The COR1 Engineering Test Unit (ETU), which had been previously tested at the NCAR/HAO and NRL test facilities, was modified into an instrument capable of observing the Sun. It was then taken to the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory to observe the corona. The changes made to observe the Sun were as follows: 1. The plate scale was changed to accommodate the smaller Apogee camera. This change had already been made for the NRL tests. 2. The previous Oriel polarizer was replaced with a commercial Polarcor polarizer from Newport to be more flight-like. However, because of cost and availability considerations, this polarizer was smaller than those which will be used for flight. 3. A structure was placed around the back section of the instrument, to protect it from stray light. 4. A pointing spar borrowed from HAO was used to track the Sun. A few days into the test, it became evident that some artifacts were appearing in the data, and these artifacts were changing as the polarizer was rotated. It was decided to test two other polarizers, the Oriel polarizer which had been used in the previous tests at HAO and NRL, and a Nikon polarizer which was borrowed from a camera belonging to one of the observatory staff members. These three polarizers had much different qualities are shown.
Biologists typically define living organisms as carbon and water-based cellular forms with :self-replication" as the fundamental trait of the life process. However, this standard dictionary definition of life does not help scientists to categorize self-replicators like viruses, prions, proteons and artificial life. CNP also named nanobacteria were discovered in early 1990s as about 100 nanometer-sized bacteria-like particles with unique apatite mineral-shells around them, and found to be associated with pathological-calcification related diseases. Although CNP have been isolated and cultured from mammalian blood and diseased calcified tissues, and their biomineralizing properties well established, their biological nature and self-replicating capability have always been severely challenged. The terms "self-replication", "self-assembly" or "self-propagation" have been widely used for all systems including nanomachines, crystals, computer viruses and memes. In a simple taxonomy, all biological and non-biological "self replicators", have been classified into "living" or "nonliving" based on the properties of the systems and the amount of support they require to self-replicate. To enhance our understanding about self-replicating nature of CNP, we have investigated their growth in specific culture conditions using conventional inverted light microscope and BioStation IM, Nikon s latest time-lapse imaging system. Their morphological structure was examined using scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy. This present study, in conjunction with previous findings of metabolic activity, antibiotic sensitivity, antibody specificity, morphological aspects and infectivity, all concomitantly validate CNP as living self-replicators.
The fireball network in Tajikistan has operated since 2009. Five stations of the network covering the territory of near eleven thousands square kilometers are equipped with all-sky cameras with the Zeiss Distagon "fish-eye" objectives and by digital SLR cameras Nikon with the Nikkor "fish-eye" objectives. Observations of the Leonid activity in 2009 were carried out during November 13-21. In this period, 16 Leonid fireballs have been photographed. As a result of astrometric and photometric reductions, the precise data including atmospheric trajectories, velocities, orbits, light curves, photometric masses and densities were determined for 10 fireballs. The radiant positions during the maximum night suggest that the majority of the fireball activity was caused by the annual stream component with only minor contribution from the 1466 trail. According to the PE criterion, the majority of Leonid fireballs belonged to the most fragile and weak fireball group IIIB. However, one detected Leonid belonged to the fireball group I. This is the first detection of an anomalously strong Leonid individual.
X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is a technique that has been used to research meteorites for some time and many others], and recently it is becoming a more common tool for the curation of meteorites and Apollo samples. Micro-CT is ideally suited to the characterization of astromaterials in the curation process as it can provide textural and compositional information at a small spatial resolution rapidly, nondestructively, and without compromising the cleanliness of the samples (e.g., samples can be scanned sealed in Teflon bags). This data can then inform scientists and curators when making and processing future sample requests for meteorites and Apollo samples. Here we present some preliminary results on micro-CT scans of four Apollo regolith breccias. Methods: Portions of four Apollo samples were used in this study: 14321, 15205, 15405, and 60639. All samples were 8-10 cm in their longest dimension and approximately equant. These samples were micro-CT scanned on the Nikon HMXST 225 System at the Natural History Museum in London. Scans were made at 205-220 kV, 135-160 microamps beam current, with an effective voxel size of 21-44 microns. Results: Initial examination of the data identify a variety of mineral clasts (including sub-voxel FeNi metal grains) and lithic clasts within the regolith breccias. Textural information within some of the lithic clasts was also discernable. Of particular interest was a large basalt clast (approx.1.3 cc) found within sample 60639, which appears to have a sub-ophitic texture. Additionally, internal void space, e.g., fractures and voids, is readily identifiable. Discussion: It is clear from the preliminary data that micro-CT analyses are able to identify important "new" clasts within the Apollo breccias, and better characterize previously described clasts or igneous samples. For example, the 60639 basalt clast was previously believed to be quite small based on its approx.0.5 sq cm exposure on the surface of the main mass. These scans show the clast to be approx.4.5 g, however (assuming a density of approx.3.5 g/cc). This is large enough for detailed studies including multiple geo-chronometers. This basalt clast is of particular interest as it is the largest Apollo 16 basalt, and it is the only mid-TiO2 basalt in the Apollo sample suite. By identifying the location of interesting clasts or grains within a sample, we will be able to make more informed decisions about where to cut a sample in order to best expose clasts of interest for future study. Moreover, knowing the location of internal defects (e.g., fractures) will allow more precise chipping and extraction of clasts or grains. By combining micro-CT scans with compositional techniques like micro x-ray fluorescence (particularly on sawn slabs), we will be able to provide even more comprehensive information to scientists trying to best select samples that fit their scientific needs.
We tested the hypothesis that the relative water content (RWC) of the sunlit leaves in a plant canopy may be estimated from polarized canopy imagery. Recently (IGARSS, July 27-31, 2015, Milan, Italy), we reported the results of laboratory polarization measurements of single detached leaves during dry down. We found that RWC was linearly related to the ratio of the reflectance of the interior of the leaf and the leaf transmittance. Here we report application of the laboratory results to estimate RWC for sunlit leaves in a plant canopy. Using a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Nikon 810 camera with Nikkor 300 mm lens and Polaroid type HN-22 linear polarizer, we photographed in the principle plane a plant canopy displaying a gradient of water stress and collected, at each of multiple points along the gradient, two images, one with the polarization filter oriented for maximum scene response and a second with the filter oriented for minimum scene response. We converted the digital values in the two images to reflectance factor with reference to images of a white, flat, horizontal Spectralon surface. We classified the polarization imagery, identifying reflecting leaves, transmitting leaves, other sunlit vegetation and shadows. For each image pair we normalized the leaf internal reflectance by dividing by the cosine of the angle of incidence of the sunlight on the leaf, selected the leaf maximum transmittance in the scene and divided to obtain the ratio reflectance/transmittance, which we compared with leaf RWC. We determined the leaf relative water content by harvesting a section of leaf and immediately placing it in a sealed container in an ice chest. Later in the laboratory the leaf sample was weighed, rehydrated, weighed, dried and again weighed. RWC was determined using the standard formula. Our experimental results support our hypothesis, suggesting that the RWC of sunlit leaves in a plant canopy may be estimated from analysis of polarization imagery collected by a COTS camera system. Unlike remotely sensed estimates of canopy equivalent water thickness, our estimates of the RWC of sunlit canopy leaves provide leaf physiological information. We propose RWC estimates based upon sunlit leaves are more relevant to assessing the water status of a plant canopy than would be RWC estimates based upon large FOV canopy measurements.