Nikon and NASA develop mirrorless camera for moon missions

Nikon company together with the space agency NASA is creating a special camera that will be used by astronauts during the mission Artemis III, the purpose of which is to return a man to the moon.

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The camera is called HULC (Handheld Universal Lunar Camera) and is a modified version of Nikon's flagship mirrorless camera Z9 with Nikkor lenses. The camera features thermal blankets to protect it from dust and extreme temperatures, as well as special handheld controls convenient for wearing in a space suit.

The HULC will be capable of capturing both photos and video in the low light and high radiation conditions that characterise the lunar surface, especially the south pole where astronauts are scheduled to land. This region of the Moon contains water ice in permanently shadowed craters, making it scientifically interesting but technically challenging to explore.

The Artemis III mission is scheduled for 2026 and will be the first time in 54 years that a human has set foot on the moon. Previous Apollo missions have used large-format cameras without a viewfinder that were left on the lunar surface. With the HULC, astronauts will be able to take better and more diverse pictures of the lunar landscape and their activities.

Source: The Verge