BODY CASE

CHALLENGE:
Reduce size and weight of TV camera from a 400-pounds bathtub-sized studio model.

SOLUTION:
Microminiaturize circuits to create a 7-pound camera, 11 x 3 x 6 inches.

CHALLENGE:
Must work during extreme temperatures: lunar night falls to 300 degrees below zero and lunar day rises to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

SOLUTION:
Lightweight aluminum base metal, with a highly reflective silverplate finish, and on top of the camera a thermal semi-hard white paint coating to reflect heat during the day. Two metal shields prevent heat loss during the lunar night.

CHALLENGE:
Must withstand eight times the force of gravity on liftoff .

SOLUTION:
Brackets with built-in vibration and shock isolation provided.

LENS

CHALLENGE:
Handle wide range of ambient light, many angles, variety of depths of field.

SOLUTION:
Design lens with neutral-density filter to deal with the high intensity light of the lunar day and provide lunar night lens with large aperture to admit all available light.

CHALLENGE:
Suited and gloved astronauts need ease of use: manual focusing and aperture changes should be eliminated

SOLUTION:
Provide four fixed-focal-length lenses that are mounted by slot as needed.

POWER SUPPLY IN/VIDEO SIGNAL OUT

CHALLENGE:
Keep power to a minimum 28 volts, with a maximum power drain no greater than 6 watts from any module.

SOLUTION:
Use integrated, molecular circuits wherever possible.

CHALLENGE:
Keep cable lines to a minimum.

SOLUTION:
Enclose Teflon coated power wires and video coaxial cables in a glass braid. Bring into the camera through the tubular handle at its base.

CHALLENGE:
Cable connections can’t withstand the pressures of a space environment.

SOLUTION:
Design a new kind of cable connector -- with easy push insertion -- that can hold up in a hostile space environment and also withstand the pulling and bending of portable use.

HANDLE

CHALLENGE:
Provide optimum means for astronauts to hold and operate the portable camera, and test optimum size, shape and mounting position of the handle

SOLUTION:
Astronaut preference and relative simplicity determined the single tubular unit on the bottom of the camera

SCANNING MODE

CHALLENGE:
Provide high resolution pictures in a narrow bandwidth that can both capture motion and be precise enough for scientific study. Share bandwidth with voice, biomedical and other telemetry data.

SOLUTION:
Provide, with the flip of a switch, the choice of 10 frames per second/320 lines per frame scanning ratio to capture motion; or .625 frames per second/1280 lines per frame for scientific still pictures. Provide scanning conversion back on earth for the commercial viewing standard of 30 frames per second/525 lines per frame.