It is sometimes said that Mike Malin knows Mars better than anyone else on Earth. A more verifiable statement is that Malin has seen more of Mars than anyone on Earth. His company, Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) in San Diego, California, has designed cameras for every one of NASA's Mars-orbiting missions since Viking in 1975. Later this week, Malin will see the start of his ninth mission to the red planet, when a launch window opens on 25 November for Curiosity, the US$2.5-billion NASA rover that is carrying three of his camera systems. Malin's devices are the eyes of the rover, the most costly and complicated Mars mission in a generation. The pictures taken by his cameras will help engineers to steer the machine; they will also be central to the scientific aim of the project: to determine whether Mars had suitable conditions for life billions of years ago.
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