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First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

nasa.gov

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Re: First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

#121

Post by ricardobeat »

outside1234 wrote: post #2

i hate to be critical of an image sent from millions of miles away but I have an honest question: Why do images from landers like this always look like there were taken from a iPhone 1's camera?

These are still from the navigation cameras.

The main camera, not yet deployed, can take 1600x1200 full-color pictures and HD video at 10fps. There's actually two of it, so it can also make 3D images/video. Other features are wide/telephoto lens, panorama stitching and 8GB flash storage.

Before complaining about resolution, this is like having a GoPro 3D on Mars, it has plenty of detail.

One of the articles mentions that the cameras are provided by the same manufacturer as the Viking missions, so they must certainly have improved. Expect some awesome images in the coming months!

More info: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/instruments/cameras/mas..., http://msl-scicorner.jpl.nasa.gov/Instruments/Mastcam/, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20110531.html

Re: First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

#123

Post by Wingman4l7 »

jl6 wrote: post #117
Wingman4l7 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Venera program is definitely one of the "unsung heroes" of planetary exploration. Perhaps the best resource for surface images of Venus (along with fascinating image reconstruction) is Don P. Mitchell's page: http://mentallandscape.com/C_CatalogVenus.htm Another fascinating tidbit: the Soviets also performed the first (and to date, only) deployment of a balloon probe on another planet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…

Wow, this is the first I've heard of the balloon mission. I wonder how long the balloons stayed afloat after the batteries ran down...

Well, I'm finding an operation time of ~46 hours, although the battery life was supposedly 60 hours. I did find this tidbit[1]:

"Shortly after passing into daylight, the Vega-2 aerostat plunged several kilometers, to a level of 0.9 atmospheres, dangerously close to the lower limit of its stable float zone. After the end of signal, the balloons probably overheated and burst, somewhere on the daylight side of Venus."

[1]: http://www.mentallandscape.com/V_Vega.htm

Re: First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

#124

Post by leberwurstsaft »

fooey wrote: post #52
Coincoin wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice! You can actually use those to make pairs of stereoscopic images. You can even see features not otherwise visible from the raw pictures. It's a shame the left and right camera distances are not the same as a human eye ; it makes the 3D effect a little too strong. I guess it gives their nav software a better depth resolution that way.

i put this together quick as an example: http://i.imgur.com/bNlkY.jpg

Thank you! The lower part isn't really a good fit, but the upper part is nice to look at.

Re: First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

#125

Post by sanxiyn »

aortega wrote: post #96
sheraz wrote: post #48

I thought it was interesting to learn about the different ways we get data back from mars. Excerpt from [1]: The data rate direct-to-Earth varies from about 500 bits per second to 32,000 bits per second (roughly half as fast as a standard home modem). The data rate to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is selected automatically and continuously during communications and can be as high as 2 million bits per second. The d…

Some one has a link with more technical data about the communication stack? algorithms, modulation, etc.

Some information is available here, including variable bit rate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electra_(radio)

Re: First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

#126

Post by yread »

jcarreiro wrote: post #72
jakeonthemove wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My thoughts exactly - Venus seems like a better place to start interplanetary exploration with - as I understand, if you could cool it down to an acceptable temperature, you could walk on the surface with just a breathing apparatus, right?

> as I understand, if you could cool it down to an > acceptable temperature, you could walk on the surface > with just a breathing apparatus, right? Sadly, probably not. Cooling it down is already a very tall order, and even then, you would need to find a way to remove most of the atmosphere in order to reduce the pressure (~90 atm at the surface). Mars is a much better bet for human habitation in the short term. Che…

> survive the 9 MPa and 450 C on the surface on Venus

not even mentioning the sulfur acid rains, lead sulfide snow and lack of magnetic field (cosmic rays penetrating atmosphere if it would be weakened)

Re: First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

#127

Post by aerique »

losvedir wrote: post #46
TomGullen wrote: post #31

I absolutely love this stuff. The photos to me are strangely eerie, and even perhaps a little sinister. I have trouble comprehending the size of other planets, photos like these make me feel uneasy (in an exciting way) because they are strikingly similar to landscapes we might find here on earth - yet it's a completely different planet! I'm no longer looking at mars as a red circle as shown in textbooks, but now as v…

That image of Venus is wonderful, thanks! I hadn't seen it before. I, too, think this is fascinating stuff. Another cool image comes from Titan, one of Saturn's moons, which we managed to land a probe on.[1] [1] http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Cassini-Huygens/SEMC8Q71Y3E_0.html

There's also an awesome video of that descent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-BwcDNsbmw

Or: http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Cassini-Huygens/SEMKVQOFGLE_1.html (check the hires download!)

Re: First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

#128

Post by Two9A »

H_L wrote: post #107
beefman wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That image was taken in 1977. Actually, this is how people saw it until 2009 http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/hires/vl1_11d128.gif when Mr Van der Hoorn "used the original 11d128.blu, 11d128.grn and 11d128.red images from the NASA Viking image archive, converted them to .png, manually removed the noise and finally merged them into one image" Details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Van_der_Hoorn/Viking/Filte... Th…

While yes, the full color image I posted was re-compiled from the original red, green, and blue channel images sent from the rover by a non-NASA source, even NASA's B&W images look better back then than they do now. I made an image to illustrate this: http://f.cl.ly/items/0k2w2d1C1O3w3e0t300f/NASAQualityDegreda...

Remember that the images we have from Curiosity so far are from the navigational guidance cameras, though. The heavy equipment hasn't been fired up yet.

If I recall, the Mastcam will take a panoramic colour view later today, and that'll take a few days to download. Then we'll have a proper image, for the first time.

Re: First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

#129

Post by raverbashing »

rohitarondekar wrote: post #113
H_L wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While yes, the full color image I posted was re-compiled from the original red, green, and blue channel images sent from the rover by a non-NASA source, even NASA's B&W images look better back then than they do now. I made an image to illustrate this: http://f.cl.ly/items/0k2w2d1C1O3w3e0t300f/NASAQualityDegreda...

Interesting. I'm just going on a hunch here, but maybe getting better photographs of the Mars surface is not a priority anymore? From the wikipedia page of Mars Science Laboratory the goals of the mission are: To contribute to these goals, MSL has six main scientific objectives: * Determine the mineralogical composition of the Martian surface and near-surface geological materials. * Attempt to detect chemical buildin…

How are you supposed to maneuver a 2 ton (or any rover for that matter) rover without cameras?

And I guess today they are cheap and easy enough (I mean, cheap as space exploration goes)

Re: First full-resolution images of the Martian surface

#130

Post by hk_kh »

nymrulez wrote: post #112

It's time to put men on Mars and not just robots. It's embarrassing that in the 40+ yrs since Armstrong we haven't gotten anywhere else.

Woosh.. really it's time to put men on Mars, or is it just "for the lulz"?

Robots are meant to provide scientific data about Mars ecosystem, explore further on the surface and so on. What does a men, right now, add there? Nothing. Just danger and wasting money.

Now, investigating technology that could put a man on Mars, that's interesting. But not just for setting foot on the surface, just for bringing to reality new tech that allows that.

Curiosity is an achievement itself. Great technology, and for now, greatly executed. How many different proves went to the moon before a man could set its foot on there?

It's not embarassing that in 40 years "we" haven't gotten anywhere else. To me it's embarassing that in 40 years we do not have yet sustainable way of keeping life on our own planet. Energy, on Earth and beyond, it's what could set a new standard for human race.

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