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In recent videos from the ISS, specifically videos after the recent Demo 2 docking, there are what seems to be little particles stuck inside or on the camera lens. I am wondering, is this damage from radiation to the camera? For an example, check out

. It is fast forwarded to a good point, Look at the man in the middle's left leg, there is a white dot that is caused by the camera.

Camera Damage

john doe
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1 Answers1

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It is indeed radiation damage. NASA has a short writeup of it here.

They speculate a variety of factors affect the rate of dead pixels:

  • Imager size
  • Pixels per imager
  • Shape and size of individual pixels
  • Pixel shifting and interpolation
  • Imager type CCD or CMOS
  • Error correction and concealment methods
  • Compression techniques used in recording and transmission
  • Temperature of imager

An image of total dead pixels for one example camera is also provided:

enter image description here

Some of the longer running experiments that rely on imagery for their science return (such as the Combustion Integrated Rack) have mapped out dead pixels in their cameras and compensate for them in their data processing.

Doresoom
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    Is that what is seen in this view of a Cygnus docking? I thought at first it might be stars but that wouldn't quite make sense based on the camera brightness setting with Cygnus in view, plus the fact that the different "star" colors look like Christmas lights. – Steve Pemberton Feb 21 '24 at 02:46
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    @StevePemberton Yes, most of the external cameras have significant radiation damage as shown in the image you linked. – Doresoom Feb 21 '24 at 04:29