Perseverance Imagery, technical discussion of processing, cameras, etc. Options

[PaulH51]

Sol 18: Our first image from the SHERLOC/WATSON camera with its lens cap open

I did Bayer reconstruction of the raw image using GIMP with the add-on filter 'G'MIC-Qt'

The image data drop out was seen on some of the earlier images with the lens cap closed, but in a different place, so hopefully not a problem.

I noted that no focus motor count was issued on the raw page so it's not possible to establish the distance to the target or estimate the scale like we could do for MAHLI. Maybe that data will be in the JSON details?


Raw image

[fredk]

I see no motor count at the json details page for that image:
https://mars.nasa.gov/rss/api/?feed=raw_ima...LC08001_0000LUJ
The filter name field just says "open".

[Andreas Plesch]

Here is the full json in case something jumps out:

CODE

{
"image": [
{
"extended": {
"mastAz": "307.733",
"mastEl": "-20.2427",
"sclk": "668555815.086",
"scaleFactor": "1",
"xyz": "(39.3213,34.1703,-0.00444177)",
"subframeRect": "(1,1,1648,1200)",
"dimension": "(1648,1200)"
},
"link_related_sol": "https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/?sol=18",
"sol": 18,
"attitude": "(0.812911,-0.0114458,0.0116122,0.582159)",
"json_link_related_sol": "https://mars.nasa.gov/rss/api/?feed=raw_images&category=mars2020&feedtype=json&sol=18",
"image_files": {
"medium": "https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020-raw-images/pub/ods/surface/sol/00018/ids/edr/browse/shrlc/SI0_0018_0668555815_008ECM_N0030578SRLC08001_0000LUJ02_800.jpg",
"small": "https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020-raw-images/pub/ods/surface/sol/00018/ids/edr/browse/shrlc/SI0_0018_0668555815_008ECM_N0030578SRLC08001_0000LUJ02_320.jpg",
"full_res": "https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020-raw-images/pub/ods/surface/sol/00018/ids/edr/browse/shrlc/SI0_0018_0668555815_008ECM_N0030578SRLC08001_0000LUJ02.png",
"large": "https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020-raw-images/pub/ods/surface/sol/00018/ids/edr/browse/shrlc/SI0_0018_0668555815_008ECM_N0030578SRLC08001_0000LUJ02_1200.jpg"
},
"imageid": "SI0_0018_0668555815_008ECM_N0030578SRLC08001_0000LUJ",
"camera": {
"filter_name": "OPEN",
"camera_vector": "(0.5740789607042541,-0.7421743420005331,0.3458476441336543)",
"camera_model_component_list": "(2.08195,-0.111422,-1.69411);(0.577631,-0.741337,0.341707);(-1801.91,-2368.23,291.421);(946.46,-1240.2,-2497.62);(0.580824,-0.747997,0.321164);(0.000473,-0.032613,0.136778)",
"camera_position": "(2.08195,-0.111422,-1.69411)",
"instrument": "SHERLOC_WATSON",
"camera_model_type": "CAHVOR"
},
"caption": "NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its SHERLOC WATSON camera, located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm. \n\nThis image was acquired on Mar. 9, 2021 (Sol 18) at the local mean solar time of 17:13:24.",
"sample_type": "Full",
"date_taken_mars": "Sol-00018M17:13:24.434",
"credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech",
"date_taken_utc": "2021-03-09T17:56:16.000",
"link": "https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/?id=SI0_0018_0668555815_008ECM_N0030578SRLC08001_0000LUJ",
"link_related_camera": "https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/?camera=SHERLOC_WATSON&sol=18",
"drive": "578",
"title": "Mars Perseverance Sol 18: WATSON Camera ",
"site": 3,
"date_received": "2021-03-09T18:26:55Z"
}
],
"type": "mars2020-imagedetail-1.1",
"mission": "mars2020"
}

[Greenish]

If "camera_position" is correct at (2.08195,-0.111422,-1.69411) then WATSON's eyeball would be a fairly high 1.7m off the ground, and out ~1m in front of the body, just left (port) of centerline.
(For ref, in RNAV frame z=0 is ~ground level, positive down; hazcams are at x~ +1.1, z~ -0.7 and navcam at z~ -1.9.)

An FOV of 37 deg diag would give about 1.1m diagonal in the image if pointed straight down. However if the axis in CAHVOR is correct then it's pointed ~20 deg below horizontal (it works out to match the "mast" azimuth & elevation values). Not convinced either of these is right - or my math, for that matter.

[lingyuk]

What is the current best method for downloading all of the raw png files from all cameras?

[mcaplinger]

If "camera_position" is correct at (2.08195,-0.111422,-1.69411) then WATSON's eyeball would be a fairly high 1.7m off the ground...

That looks wrong to me, I suspect a bug somewhere.

[xflare]

Ah I didnt realise we wouldn't be seeing SUPERCAM RAW images like we did with Curiosity

[MarkL]

What is the current best method for downloading all of the raw png files from all cameras?

https://rkinnett.github.io/roverpics/

Firefox/DownThemAll is a great combo and you can get the actual JSON files or just the URLs. Great service!

[fredk]

if the axis in CAHVOR is correct then it's pointed ~20 deg below horizontal (it works out to match the "mast" azimuth & elevation values)

Using the camera_vector and attitude quaternion gives el,az = -19.3,19.5 deg in the LL frame (so az is relative to north), so the azimuth is quite different from the mastAz value. My guess is that mastEl and mastAz are for the RNAV frame (elevations are pretty close since the rover was close to level).

[htspace]

How to batch debayer images?
What software is there? Fast and easy？
When I download these pictures, I don’t know how to batch process……
Thank you！

[htspace]

Hello, there is no response when clicking Export selected image URLs.

[htspace]

https://rkinnett.github.io/roverpics/

Firefox/DownThemAll is a great combo and you can get the actual JSON files or just the URLs. Great service!

Hello, there is no response when clicking Export selected image URLs.

[JohnVV]

What software is there? Fast and easy？

i use Gmic's built in program " bayer2rgb"
https://gmic.eu/
it is a commandline tool

CODE

gmic InputImage.png bayer2rgb 1,1,1 -o OutputImage.png

now they will be a bit "yellow/green" do to the contrast stretch that these png's have had done to them

[JRehling]

The goals of a panoramic color camera and astrophotography are in many ways diametrically opposed. (That said, that image of Phobos and Deimos is simply awesome.) For imaging Phobos, Earth, Jupiter, etc. from Mars and getting the most impressive results, you'd want an instrument very different from Mastcam-Z. And for obvious reasons, that's not what this mission is about.

To do astrophotography from Mars (where, I imagine, the "seeing" would almost always be excellent due to the low pressure) the ideal instrument would be the same as on Earth – a big aperture on the telescope and a small pixel count, just big enough to capture the object of interest. Lots of area means your system is capturing meaningless data when you're looking at a small object surrounded by empty sky. (Some camera software allows you to capture just a small window of a larger frame; I have one with that capability, but I don't think there's any reason why you'd want that on Mars.) Color via a monochrome sensor and the ability to move different filters in front of it… Bayer color automatically reduces your resolution by about 1.5.

It'd be fun to see what a ~20 cm aperture telescope could do from Mars, but I think we can imagine… take pictures of Jupiter as seen by amateurs on Earth and improve the resolution about 2x. It'd be amazing. Almost Voyager quality. Pictures of Earth would have about half the resolution of pictures of Mars as seen from Earth (because you'd only be looking at Earth's night side when the planets are closest).

But I don't see this sort of add-on justifying the cost anytime soon.

[djellison]

i use Gmic's built in program " bayer2rgb"

I must admit - I've found Gmic's debayer performance to be pretty ugly - especially at the edge of images.

I've been using PIPP which can batch debayer images and I've been very pleased with the results

https://sites.google.com/site/astropipp/