Since the Mars Rover Perseverance sent the first image to Earth on February 19, 2021, an enormous amount of (image) data has been generated. It is up to the researchers to bring these together, interpret and visualize them as a whole. A publication cited from Austria recently appeared on the subject.
The Mars 2020 mission delivers impressive images of the red planet. However, how to create lifelike 3D visualizations from the multitude of data and what information can be obtained from them is highly complex. Gerhard Paar from DIGITAL, the institute for digital technologies at JOANNEUM RESEARCH, recently published a comprehensive state-of-the-art report on the mission-spanning three-dimensional data processing with an international research team of 19. On the Austrian side, JOANNEUM RESEARCH and the VRVis Center for Virtual Reality and Visualization, whose researchers developed the PRo3D visualization tool, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) are involved in the 3D data evaluation of the Mars 2020 mission. “For the first time, we examined and summarized the interaction of the different 3D tools used during the mission and their synergies,” explains first author Gerhard Paar. A stereo imaging camera attached to the Mars rover – the Mastcam-Z – and other cameras that supply the data serve as the basis for the generation of three-dimensional images. VRVis researcher Christoph Traxler explains the state of the art: “PRo3D provides the necessary measurement and visualization tools for geological interpretation and is used for the production of images in publications as well as high-resolution videos, which are also essential for low-threshold science communication. Our tools are involved in investigations of the surface properties of the Martian soil as well as in geological analyzes at distances of up to around 100 meters.” The interactive 3D reconstruction enables planetary scientists to perform exploration and analysis that is close to reality and in the field. According to Christian Koeberl (University of Vienna/ÖAW), this makes a significant contribution to understanding the Martian climate of the last three billion years, the history and regression of water on Mars and the explanation of geological processes.
Various visualization tools create the big picture
Altogether there are regarding ten image processing tools in use in this gigantic transnational project that enable 3D modeling and 3D visualization, some of which are publicly available. This allows the surface of Mars to be reconstructed from the images and 3D data products to be created with a wide variety of information regarding the surface of Mars. Examples include elevation or distance maps that record the 3D coordinates of each point. In combination with data from other sensors or sources – including 3D models from satellites – and at different scales, the interpretation and location of the processed products is further improved. The three-dimensional data products are then used for the navigation of the rover, for the exact visualization of the surface of Mars and for exact spatial measurements – in some cases more precisely than is possible on Earth using GPS. The 3D vision processing and visualization is an essential mission-wide tool to solve important questions of planetary science such as the prevailing wind direction in different epochs, the soil composition or the geological origin.
Publikation: G. Paar et al., 2023. Three-Dimensional Data Preparation and Immersive Mission-Spanning Visualization and Analysis of Mars 2020 Mastcam-Z Stereo Image Sequences: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022EA002532
Sponsor of the Austrian contribution: FFG
Caption: 3D reconstruction from Mastcam-Z camera stereo images of the Boston Knob Formation taken on Martian Days (“Sol”) 458 and 459 of the Perseverance Mars Rover Mission. The incorporated scaling information is important for the interpretation of the grain sizes and layer thicknesses, e.g. B. to identify rocks with traces of any former life on Mars. The remains of a former river delta can be seen in the background. The 3D model of the rock was embedded in a 3D model of the Martian surface created from satellite imagery in order to reproduce the situation on Mars as realistically as possible.
Die JOANNEUM RESEARCH with headquarters in Graz is an innovation and technology provider in the field of applied research. As a research company of the countries and regions, we shape the development of our modern society and economy with our research competencies in a sustainable and human-centered manner.
VRVis center for Virtual Reality and Visualization Forschungs-GmbH is Austria’s leading research institution in the field of visual computing and, with its more than 70 employees, runs innovative research and development projects in cooperation with industrial companies and universities. The VRVis is a competence center that is funded by the BMK, BMDW, the State of Styria, the Styrian Economic Development Agency – SFG and the Vienna Business Agency – a fund of the City of Vienna as part of the COMET program. The COMET program is managed by the FFG.
Die Austrian Academy of Sciences has the legal task of “promoting science in every respect”. Founded in 1847 as a learned society, it now has more than 770 members, 27 research institutes and around 1,800 employees for innovative basic research, interdisciplinary knowledge exchange and the communication of new findings – with the aim of contributing to scientific and overall social progress.
Kontakt: DI Gerhard Paar JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH DIGITAL - Institut für Digitale Technologien Steyrergasse 17, 8010 Graz E-Mail: gerhard.paar@joanneum.at Tel.: +43 664 6028761716
