Nikon partners with NASA and develops mirrorless camera that will work on the Moon

Nikon announced Friday (1) a partnership with NASA to produce the Portable Universal Lunar (HULC), a mirrorless camera that will be used by American astronauts during the Artemis III mission.

The camera is designed to capture images in low light and operate in the harsh environment of the Moon’s south pole. Even before signing the deal with NASA, the Japanese company had already conducted thermal, vacuum and radiation tests to simulate extreme usage conditions on a modified version of its flagship camera, the Nikon Z9 full-frame mirrorless.

The simulations combined the HULC system base with Nikkor interchangeable lenses. Unlike traditional DSLR cameras that use a mirror to reflect light from the subject being photographed through the optical viewfinder lens, mirrorless cameras do not have a reflective mirror system.

They capture light and convert it into an electrical signal on a 45.7-megapixel full-frame sensor. forming a digital image displayed in the electronic viewfinder or LCD touch screen.

Nikkon camera on the Artemis III mission

The Artemis III mission, planned to go into space with the Orion spacecraft, will be the first human landing on the lunar surface since 1972. During the 30-day mission, The first woman will set foot on the Moon with a fellow astronaut carried by the Starship Human Landing System. SpaceXfor a week.

While the Moon’s south pole, a region of frozen water in always dark craters, is of immense scientific interest, this region is not only affected by extreme lighting and temperature conditions, but also by the harsh and unforgiving void.

In addition to redesigning the various HULC internal control circuits and arrays to withstand high amounts of radiation, special attention should be paid to the use of the adapted Nikon Z9 during extravehicular activities (EVA).

A special grip was created to make the camera easier to use with thick spacesuit gloves. Allows controls such as shutter, playback, and switching between photo/video capture.