Telescopic Camera for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Front End

The high resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE) is one of six science instruments for NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The orbiter is scheduled for launch in August 2005. This instrument is designed to produce the most detailed pictures of Mars ever taken from orbit, revealing surface details as small as a meter (3 feet) across. In this photograph, a worker at Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo., prepares the instrument before it is shipped for attachment to the spacecraft.