The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) of Mars Express and its approach to science analysis and mapping for Mars and its satellites

Community Tools for Cartographic and Photogrammetric Processing of Mars Express HRSC Images

“…Since commencing operations in 2004 it has imaged ~77% of Mars at 20 m/pixel or better. The instrument team uses the Video Image Communication And Retrieval (VICAR) software to produce and archive a range of data products from uncalibrated and radiometrically calibrated images to controlled digital topographic models (DTMs) and orthoimages and regional mosaics of DTM and orthophoto data (Gwinner et al 2009;2010b;2016). Alternatives to this highly effective standard processing pipeline are nevertheless of interest to researchers who do not have access to the full VICAR suite and may wish to make topographic products or perform other (e. g., spectrophotometric) analyses prior to the release of the highest level products.…”

“…HRSC is a pushbroom scanner with 9 detector lines, enabling it to obtain multiple stereo views of a target region and/or color coverage on a single orbital pass. To date more than 98% of Mars has been imaged with ground sample distances of 10 m (nadir channel at periapse) and greater (76% at 20 m or better), and the team has produced digital topographic models (DTMs) with post spacings of 50 m and greater for about 40% of the planet by use of a VICAR (Video Image Communication and Retrieval) processing pipeline (Scholten et al 2005;Gwinner et al 2009;2010b;2016). Our approach uses the USGS digital cartography system ISIS3 (Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers; Sides 2017) and the commercial stereomapping software SOCET SET ® from BAE Systems (Miller and Walker 1993;1995), and is thus independent of the VICAR pipeline.…”

Massive stereo-based DTM production for Mars on cloud computers

“…The HRSC on Mars Express comprises nine channels/looks that together in a single pass, within a few minutes, collect multi-angular and multi-colour images of the Martian surface, allowing stereo colour images to be produced from single orbit observations (Gwinner et al, 2016). German Aerospace Centre (DLR) has generated along-track orbital strip DTMs (at grid-spacing from 50-150m) and ORIs (up to 12.5m/pixel) in a Sinusoidal projection system.…”

“…The processing of the raw HRSC data includes radiometric de-calibration, noise reduction, image matching, geo-referencing, photogrammetric processing and along-track Bundle Adjustment (BA). The final products are then labelled as "Level-4 Version 50þ" (v50þ) when the products reach a satisfactory level of quality (Gwinner et al, 2009;Gwinner et al, 2016). The co-registration of HRSC DTM and MOLA DTM is checked using average height differences and usually reveal residual horizontal offsets smaller than the grid spacing of the HRSC DTM and residual vertical offsets below 10m (Gwinner et al, 2009).…”

Planetary Cartography and Mapping: Where We Are Today, and Where We Are Heading For?

“…It involves production of image and topographic maps, definition of a large-scale quadrangle schema for cartographic representation of Mars (Lehmann et al, 1997;Albertz et al, 2005), or automatization of map generation processes (PIMap, Gehrke et al, 2006). A new set of cartographic products based on the integration of data from multiple orbits was produced and published recently (Gwinner, et al, 2016). Controlled images and ortho-image mosaics were also produced and published for Phobos (Wä hlisch et al, 2010(Wä hlisch et al, , 2014Willner et al, 2010Willner et al, , 2014, or the Icy Saturnian Satellites (4) (Roatsch et al, 2009).…”