Title

Integration of Orbital, Descent and Ground Imagery
for Topographic Capability Analysis in Mars Landed Missions

NASA Program

ROSES-2005 NRA, Science Mission Directorate

Principal Investigator

Dr. Ron Li

Co-Investigator

Dr. Kaichang Di

Timeline

January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2008

Goal

The goal of the proposed research is to develop advanced geo-information technology to integrate orbital, descent, and ground imagery for topographic capability analysis in Mars landed missions.

Objectives

1) Investigate how to integrate the orbital, descent and ground imagery within a true 3-D integrated geometric model,
2) Estimate the precision of topographic features mapped on the Martian surface, and
3) Develop innovative applied information methodºs to register orbital, descent and ground imagery through distinctive landmarks, and to develop methods for automatic mapping of large terrain features such as major craters, hollows, and hills.

Study Area

Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Landing Site
Spirit : Gusev Crater (14.6ºS, 175.5ºE)
Opportunity :  Meridiani Planum (2.1ºS, 353.8ºE)

Dataset

 
< Three MOC/NA Images for Spirit Landing Site >

 
< Two Nadir HRSC Images for Spirit Landing Site > 


< Mosaic of three DIMES images for Spirit Landing Site >
 

Approach

Systematic assessment of topographic mapping capabilities of orbital, descent and ground imagery will be conducted based on photogrammetric bundle adjustment and statistical analysis. The current bundle-adjustment technology, which has been used during MER (Mares Exploration Rover) mission operations for MER landing-site mapping and rover localization using ground images, will be extended to include orbital and descent images within an integrated geometric model. Using an extended bundle adjustment, the positions and orientations of all three types of images will be adjusted in this integrated image network to achieve the best possible accuracy.
 

Output

Topographic products, such as digital terrain models (DTMs), orthophotos, and 3-D dynamic models (VRML), will be generated after bundle adjustment of the image network. These products are very important for topographic and geological characterization of landing sites, for crater mechanics modeling, and for other scientific research in future Mars landed missions.
The research goes beyond existing efforts because it integrates orbital, descent and ground imagery in a new comprehensive geometric model and facilitates high-precision topographic mapping. The developed methods can be used in future missions for regional topographic mapping to support landing-site selection for topographic characterization before landing, and for mission planning and surface operations at an extended landing site.