Visualization tools facilitate geological investigations of Mars Exploration Rover landing sites

Kurt D. Schwehr; Carrie Nishimura; Catherine L. Johnson; Debi L. Kilb; Atul Nayak

doi:10.1117/12.585953

11 March 2005 Visualization tools facilitate geological investigations of Mars Exploration Rover landing sites

Kurt D. Schwehr, Carrie Nishimura, Catherine L. Johnson, Debi L. Kilb, Atul Nayak

Proceedings Volume 5669, Visualization and Data Analysis 2005; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.585953
Event: Electronic Imaging 2005, 2005, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

The current rate of Mars exploration data acquisition demands that geoscientists and computer scientists coordinate central storage, processing and visualization strategies to anticipate future technological advancements. We investigate how existing 3-D visualization tools can be used to study a part of the Mars orbiter and lander data (about 4 terabytes of data). Our tools assist in juxtaposition of different datum and in viewing data that spans multiple orders of magnitude, specifically for current scientific research pertaining to Mars’ geophysics and geology. These tools also permit effective data fidelity and resolution assessment, allowing quick identification of problems related to the use of differing spatial coordinate systems, a continued problem. Knowledge gained from the small dataset we test, helps us identify key tools needed to accommodate the technology required to process and analyze approximately 64 terabytes of Mars data expected by 2008. We use the current planetary data archives, and identify key visualization techniques and tools that distill multiple data types into manageable end products. Our goal is to broaden the user base, using readily available platform-independent freeware packages, while simultaneously including sufficient modularity to be compatible with future technologies.

Citation Download Citation

Kurt D. Schwehr, Carrie Nishimura, Catherine L. Johnson, Debi L. Kilb, and Atul Nayak "Visualization tools facilitate geological investigations of Mars Exploration Rover landing sites", Proc. SPIE 5669, Visualization and Data Analysis 2005, (11 March 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.585953

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available