Though equipped with only one-megapixel cameras, the Spirit and Opportunity rovers have a robotic platform and software that allows them to combine dozens of shots into a single photograph. The researchers who developed the platform partnered with industry to share the technology, which is now widely used on Earth.
Since 2004, new generations of Mars rovers have been stunning the world with high-resolution imagery. Though equipped with only one-megapixel cameras, the Spirit and Opportunity rovers have a robotic platform and software that allows them to combine dozens of shots into a single photograph. The researchers who developed the platform partnered with industry to share the technology, resulting in the Gigapan photography platform widely used on Earth to create super high-resolution panoramas of public events, professional sports games, concerts and more.
Read more: http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2012/cg_4.html
Image credit: David Bergman