Scientists and Engineers Make Choices About Resolution

Each NASA team is given a strict time budget for the Deep Space Network, which is used to transfer data to and from spacecraft. Smaller files take less time to transfer, but more detailed images provide more information.

Look at the two pictures below sent from Mars and decide which resolution would be right for each situation:

• A few hours after the Curiosity rover had landed on Mars, NASA engineers wanted to know whether it had landed safely and right side up.
• NASA scientists wanted to measure and study some rocks near the rover to look for evidence of whether the area was once at the bottom of a lake.