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ESA
presents Mars in 3D
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Credits:
ESA/ DLR/ FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
Mars is about to come into
3D focus as never before, thanks to the data from the Mars
Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). A new
high-resolution Digital Terrain Model data set that has just been
released onto the Internet, will allow researchers to obtain new
information about the Red Planet in 3D.
Digital
Terrain Models (DTMs) allow scientists to ‘stand’ on
planetary surfaces. Although ordinary images can give spectacular
bird’s-eye views, they can only convey part of the picture.
They miss out on the topography, or the vertical elevation of the
surroundings. That’s where Mars Express comes in.
The
HRSC was especially designed to provide this information and,
after years of specialized data processing, the first
comprehensive release of 3D data of a large part of the martian
surface is now ready. “Understanding the topography of Mars
is essential to understanding its geology,” says Prof.
Gerhard Neukum, Freie Universität (FU) Berlin, Germany,
Principal Investigator for the HRSC.
The DTM can
instantly tell researchers the slope of hillsides or the height
of cliffs, the altitude and slope of lava flows or desert plains.
“This data is essential for understanding how water or lava
flowed across Mars,” says Neukum.
It
also helps planetary scientists to better interpret other data
sets, for example the results of the Mars Advanced Radar for
Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS). “Once we know
where the surface is, we can correctly interpret the radar echoes
we get from below it,” says former ESA scientist Angelo
Rossi, a member of the HRSC team.
The Mars Express DTM is
the most detailed topographic data set ever released for Mars.
Its release has been made possible by processing individual image
swaths taken by the HRSC as Mars Express sweeps through its
orbit. The individual swaths are then put together into mosaics
that cover large regions. The high-resolution images used have a
resolution of 10 m/pixel. The DTM elevation data derived from
these images is provided in pixels of up to 50 m, with a height
accuracy of 10 m.
The orbit of Mars Express determines
the resolution of its pictures. When it is closest to the
surface, it can take the most detailed pictures. “As the
mission continues, we are gradually filling in the gaps and
collecting high-resolution data whenever possible,” says
Neukum.
The team plans to add more data to the DTMs to
extend the surface coverage as Mars Express continues its mission
until at least 2009 and HRSC continues its unique scrutiny of the
planet.
Source:
ESA
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