Talk:Camera, hand lens, and microscope probe

Proposed vs. selected
Just wondering if the article could mention whether the instrument was only proposed or if actually it was developed and integrated in the MSL? Cheers, BatteryIncluded (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 15:54, 18 April 2012‎ (UTC)

Start of answer to Proposed vs. selected
Hello, the instrument was built at LASP in Boulder Colorado in 2000-2002, and is currently on the NASA Ames K9 test bed rover, with added extensions such as Ramen spectroscopy not mentioned here. I'll try to update the page soon with some images taken with CHAMP of the Boulder mountains, various rocks, a sequence showing a US $1 bill from a distance, zooming to show individual fibers, and also of the instrument mounted on the K9 rover. I'm not certain of the full history of the MAHLI development at Malin, nor the extent of contribution from CHAMP to the final design. The concepts and the optics originally developed by Boynton, et al for CHAMP, as well as the software techniques, were subsequently pursued aggressively by Mungas and others at JPL. On the K9, the CHAMP was used extensively for software development for arm placement onto targets of interest, without damaging the objective and using the feeler potentiometers for contact sensors and stabilizers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.176.92.237 (talk) 06:04, 4 August 2012 (UTC)