The Mars Hand Lens Imager serves as a geological microscope for the Curiosity rover. Mounted on the rover's instrument turret, it takes extreme close-up, full-color images of Martian rocks and soil. Geologists use these images to analyze the texture, morphology, and mineralogy of surface materials at a microscopic scale.
Deploy the arm and get a MAHLI mosaic of that layered outcrop before we drill.
Because it sits on the end of the robotic arm, it can be positioned just millimeters from a target, much like a geologist holding a hand lens.
Related terms
Mars rover
A Mars rover is an automated motor vehicle designed to travel across the surface of Mars.
MastCam
A multispectral imaging system mounted on the elevated structure of a planetary rover.
MARDI
The Mars Descent Imager is a downward-facing camera on the Curiosity rover used during its landing sequence.