
What really happened to that melted NASA camera? - ColinWright
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/what-really-happened-to-that-melted-nasa-camera
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maxxxxx
I like to place trail cameras in the mountains during hikes and leave them for
a few months to see if they catch any animals. One of them caught in one of
the big fires in CA last year.

When I got back to the area the only thing I could find was the metal rod it
was on, some wires and a disk of molten plastic material under it. I guess
they were luck to find as much as they did :-)

~~~
adrianN
Is it legal to just place cameras where you live? I think in Germany you could
get in serious trouble for planting cameras.

~~~
fergbrain
The law in the USA is _vastly_ from Europe with regards to photography.
Generally speaking, “When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you
have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view.” (Source:
[https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/photographers-what-
do-...](https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/photographers-what-do-if-you-
are-stopped-or-detained-taking-photographs)).

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Mediterraneo10
When I opened this, I thought it was going to be about the camera inside the
space shuttle Columbia. After the disaster, there were rumours that the
footage from the shuttle’s inside camera – which had captured the crew’s
horrific final moments – had survived the crash, but of course this footage
would never be disclosed to the general public.

~~~
ericcumbee
They did recover a mini dv camcorder from sts-107 and managed to record some
video during the early phase of re-entry.
[https://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/030225caib/](https://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/030225caib/)

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phyzome
Kind of a clickbait headline -- yeah, it was a brush fire, wasn't that part of
the original reporting?

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donarb
Amazing that the memory card was still intact after the camera caught fire.

~~~
antongribok
Given that this looks to be a Canon 5Ds I would have been more surprised if
the card _didn 't_ survive.

This is what the body of the camera looks like underneath the skin:

[https://www.eoshd.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/02/canon-5ds.j...](https://www.eoshd.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/02/canon-5ds.jpg)

From the animated GIF it looks like the fire wasn't very hot, and most of the
damage was just the plastic lens hood melting over the front element.

~~~
disillusioned
I've seen YouTube videos where people try to destroy Canons. In one, they
froze it (with water inside the camera), through it down the stairs, and
burned it. And the mirror was still functioning. It wasn't taking great
pictures, but it WAS taking something. They're tanks.

~~~
jlarocco
The "pro" camera bodies from both Nikon and Canon are designed to take a
beating. Here's a similar video with a Nikon:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBB-
CvqjdCE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBB-CvqjdCE)

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CaliforniaKarl
>The "toasty" camera (below right), as Ingalls calls it, is likely headed for
display somewhere at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Cool.

>Meanwhile, Ingalls himself will soon travel to Kazakhstan to photograph the
June 3 landing of the International Space Station's Expedition 55 crew. He
expects that will be a completely normal assignment.

Something about that last sentence made me laugh. Some sort of “Dry NASA
humor” plus “Don’t temp fate!”

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calmconviction
In case anyone is interested in that anchor, here's a little time saved:
[https://theclaw.com/product/c101earthanchoringsystem/](https://theclaw.com/product/c101earthanchoringsystem/)

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wereHamster
What exactly set the gras on fire? Can't believe it's the exhaust since the
camera is so far away from the launch pad. Is there burning debris falling
from the rocket that can ignite vegetation? Does this also happen during
launches on the east coast?

