James Cameron to shoot Mars in 3-D

After immersing movie-goers in the dazzling imaginary world of Pandora, "Avatar" director James Cameron is training his 3-D camera on a planet closer to home: Mars.

The Pasadena Star News reported Thursday that the Oscar-winning filmmaker has persuaded NASA to install a high-resolution 3-D camera on the next generation Mars rover, Curiosity, due to launch in 2011.

Cameron had lobbied NASA administrator Charles Bolden directly in a meeting in January, the newspaper reported.

Cameron, whose science-fiction epic "Avatar" has earned more than 2.7 billion dollars worldwide, argued that a rover with 3-D "eyes" would better help to capture public imagination in the mission.

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