Investigating Lunar Boulders at the Apollo 17 Landing Site Using Photogrammetry and Virtual Reality

Abstract

The Taurus-Littrow valley on the Moon was the location of intensive geologic fieldwork during three days in December 1972. In situ activities at sampling stations were systematically documented by the astronauts using a series of overlapping images taken with their Hasselblad cameras. We investigated how this Apollo image archive can be used to perform 3-D reconstructions of several boulders of interest using close-range photogrammetry. We specifically focused on seven different boulders located at Stations 2, 6, and 7, at the foot of South and North Massifs, respectively. These boulders represent samples from highland materials, which rolled down the slopes of the surrounding hills. We used the Agisoft Metashape software to compute 3-D reconstructions of these boulders, using 173 scanned images as input. We then used either a web-based platform or a game engine to render the models in virtual reality. This allowed the users to walk around the boulders and to investigate in detail their morphology, fractures, vesicles, color variations, and sampling spots, as if standing directly in front of them with the astronauts. This work suggests that many features can be reconstructed in other sites of the Apollo missions, so as other robotic landing sites. Virtual reality techniques coupled to photogrammetry is thus opening a new era of exploration, both for past and future landing sites.

Implementation of the directly-georeferenced hyperspectral point cloud

“…This is particularly useful for remote field work, which often has high logistical costs (e.g., travel, food, lodging) that limit the number of individuals that can be involved. By navigating a DHPC in VR or AR, users can study the field conditions of remote sites in a cost-effective [6] and repeatable manner [7 , 8] . For fragile ecosystems, VR/AR visualization of the DHPC also allows multiple users to analyze the same field site without disturbing the natural dynamics of the system.…”

Long-Distance 3D Reconstructions Using Photogrammetry with Curiosity’s ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager in Gale Crater (Mars)

“…This technique relies on a suite of algorithms able to recreate an accurate 3D representation of an object from a set of overlapping 2D images [24]. SfM photogrammetry is particularly well suited for geological purposes and is commonly used both on Earth [25][26][27][28][29], and in the planetary community [30,31]. In the case of the Gale crater, several successful examples of DOM reconstruction to characterize the sedimentary record have already been performed using Navcam [20], MAHLI [32], Mastcam [18] or a combination of these instruments [12,33].…”

Comparing UAS LiDAR and Structure-from-Motion Photogrammetry for Peatland Mapping and Virtual Reality (VR) Visualization

“…Because peatlands are both fragile ecosystems and in general have poor accessibility, tools to remotely study, access, and visualize peatland structure in 3D are needed for advancing our understanding of their response to climate change. Although not a new technology [28], the recent advances in virtual reality (VR) [29], with its applications in medicine [30], conservation [31], geosciences [32,33], e-tourism [34,35], and education [36], among others, provide novel opportunities to study peatlands and other ecosystems remotely without disturbance [37]. VR is technology (hardware and software) that generates a simulated environment which stimulates a "sense of being present" in the virtual representation [38].…”

“…Thus, through VR, users experience an immersive experience of the field conditions in a cost-effective and repeatable manner. For instance, [29] showcases the advantages of VR, such as the quantification and analysis of field observations, which can be performed at multiple scales. While early implementations required extensive and expensive hardware, such as CAVE (CAVE Automatic Virtual Environments) [38], recent commercial grade VR systems that utilize improved head mounted displays (HMD), such as Oculus Rift, Sony PlayStation VR, HTC Vive Cosmos, etc., allow for outstanding visualization capabilities and sharing of scientific output through web-based platforms.…”