Why does the Mars probe only take pictures and not video when it is running on Mars?

First, the storage system of the detector does not allow it.

Whether it is a satellite or a probe, or an opportunity to run on Mars or Spirit, it will go through seven minutes of bad launch, space and terror (landing through the atmosphere), so the key to its storage components is reliability and capacity. Is the second place, Mars exploration will have a lot of data to record. If you open the storage space to the camera, it is estimated that it will be full in a day or two ... An ordinary 1080P (about 2 million pixels) surveillance camera will generate more than 40G capacity every day, and this is only the resolution of 1080P, which is too low for a photo, and the ordinary camera will exceed 1000 million.

Second, the deep space transmission bandwidth is not enough and it is not maintained at any time. Due to the rotation of Mars, the occlusion of the sun position or the interruption of solar activity, video transmission needs a lot of bandwidth.

Third, deep space exploration basically does not need video. Even the rover moves very slowly, and it doesn't even need a static detector like Insight to shoot video. Even if necessary, you can use time-lapse photography (taking a photo every once in a while) to take pictures and then synthesize dynamic video. This is a GIF picture of three sunset photos of Mars.

Fourth, the power supply is carefully calculated. The power consumption of cameras that are turned on for a long time should not be underestimated. Although it is only a power socket on the earth, all the electricity on Mars comes from solar cells. For example, your home is in a remote place, with no electricity and only one set of solar energy equipment. Can you still watch TV happily? The answer comes from the view of the flower shop on Xinghai Road.