[FourtySeven]

I've wondered that too, and reasoned two possibilities:

1. Transmitting pictures over billions of miles tends to degrade their quality (for some reason). I don't know what that could be though, I'd be interested to find out.

2. In an effort to get there "cheaper, faster", NASA invested in some REALLY cheap cameras, that at your local SAMS or Wal-mart would retail for $20, but of course, they paid $2mil or so (which is still a bargain for a government agency :) )

I like to think it's #1, just because I don't like to be reminded of how wasteful our government is. hehe

[null and void]

Excellent artcle on the CCDs in this week's EETimes. THey are suberb sensors. For example, the read noise floor is 3, count 'em THREE, electrons. A full signal is 200,000 electrons/pixel. Signal uniformity across the array is better than 99%.

It runs from -90°C to 20°C. Although it's "only" a 1 megapixel camera, it is a very precise JPL designed sensor.