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.

"He actually was really open to the idea," Cameron was quoted by the newspaper as saying. "Our first meeting went very well."

The report said NASA had purchased a 3-D camera that would be rigged to a mast on top of Curiosity.

"It's a very ambitious mission. It's a very exciting mission," Cameron said. "(The scientists are) going to answer a lot of really important questions about the previous and potential future habitability of Mars."