Virtual Viking, Images and animations of the Viking landing sites Options

[scalbers]

Yes I can appreciate the hi-res color mosaics might be challenging, yet I believe the effort may be worthwhile. The hi-res is three times the angular resolution of the low-res so there is a significant gain in detail (9 times the pixels). I recall back in 1977 that this type of combining was done at least in the context of individual hi-res images and it looked pretty good. It was done at JPL/IPL using VICAR so any geometric corrections would have been doable (e.g. with the GEOCAM program).

I wonder if the original imagery can still be reprocessed with VICAR somehow. Otherwise something like IDL or other languages can fairly easily correct for camera tilt. The other camera distortions might require something like what VICAR/GEOCAM did if they are significant. If there are offsets in shadows then maybe a fancier program can be put together that would use "nearby" color information when needed.

Looking online, here are some hi-res/low-res combo color images from Mary A. Dale-Bannister.

Here's another one from Ricardo Nunes who also worked with Ted Stryk's super-resolution images as mentioned in post #5 of this thread.

The black and white mosaics do have fairly consistent lighting, so I'm checking whether there are any wide angle panoramic color images (or mosaics) from similar times of day where this can be attempted. Using Phil's PDS link in post #19 I was able to construct this fairly wide angle low-res color view. I can see the lighting and geometry issues when matching to the hi-res mosaic. The missing vertical lines need to be filled in as well - there used to be a VICAR program called FILLVL to do this.



That's what I've found so far.

Steve

[Phil Stooke]

Can anyone help me with this? I'm trying to find out how many images were taken by Viking Orbiter 1 and how many by Viking Orbiter 2. All I can find is the combined value.

Phil

[elakdawalla]

Sorting the CUMINDEX.TAB file for Viking Orbiter on SPACECRAFT_NAME, I get

34918 VIKING_ORBITER_1
15582 VIKING_ORBITER_2

Does this sound reasonable?

[Phil Stooke]

That was quick! Thanks very much. Yes, very reasonable because VO1 lasted twice as long as VO2.

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

Just to follow up, that number may not include some approach views, calibration images, satellite and ring search images etc. (Yes, there was a satellite and ring search at some point fairly late in the mission) - but it seems to match the archived image totals - as of course the source would suggest it should. I have a suggestion that 1039 images are not included in those totals. That may also include some which were either lost in transmission, and lost or unreadable on the old tapes.

Phil

[elakdawalla]

It includes the following:
547 VO1 images targeted at "STAR" or "MARS" during cruise -- there's your approach and calibration images;
8 VO1 images of the bicentennial emblem;

I don't see any VO2 approach "STAR" images, but there are the PRE_ORBIT images of MARS, 91 of them.

One thing I know for sure that the PDS archive does not include is the Earth-Moon departure images. I tried to inquire with someone at the geosciences node about these but I don't think she understood that I was looking for original data, not cruddy old press-release images; she didn't seem interested in pursuing them.

You can explore the file for yourself here:
ftp://pdsimage2.wr.usgs.gov/cdroms/viking.../vo_1064/index/ (cumindex.tab and cumindex.lbl)

--Emily

[Phil Stooke]

Thanks again!

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

This is an image that, as far as I know, has never been compiled or published before. Earlier I posted mosaics of images taken underneath the two Viking landers using small mirrors on the sampler arm. This is another one. It's from Viking Lander 2, showing images taken over three sols far apart in the mission, looking at the area near Footpad 2. This footpad carried a temperature sensor. They needed to know if it was buried or not - Viking 1's was buried, this one is not. The sensor is near the right end of the mosaic, but I couldn't tell you which object it is.

Phil

(EDIT: I changed 'left' to 'right' in the last sentence - it's correct now. I forgot I had flipped it to remove the mirror reversal.)

[lyford]

Very cool - I have been transported in time AND space!

[vikingmars]

.../... but I couldn't tell you which object it is. Phil

Phil, I'm pretty sure : this is the temp sensor

[vikingmars]

...And by the way, phil : you did a GREAT work !

[JohnVV]

i would say that the temp sencer is this ( in red ) and it's cable ( in green )
[attachment=20535:vik2_foo...d_images.png]

[Phil Stooke]

Here is the comparable mosaic of images of the footpad temperature sensor from Viking 1. This sensor, on Footpad 2, was found to be buried (or partly buried?) in the fine drift material which covered the footpad itself. Like the Viking 2 mosaic, I don't think this was ever previously assembled like this and published. The images were taken on sols 40, 203 and 520.

Phil

[Vanden]

Hello,

Thank you all, especially those that process and share their pictures !
Oliver, The Viking High-resolution panorama are magnificent !!

The few Viking Lander high-resolution color images of good quality that I saw were also Olivier :

VL1:
visions-mars07-1280x1024.jpg
visions-mars07-1440x900.jpg
Goursac-Mars8.jpg
visions-mars08-1280x1024.jpg
visions-mars08-1440x900.jpg
Goursac-Mars11.jpg
pano_sunset.jpg
evening2.jpg
VL1_morning_evening.jpg

VL2 :
Goursac-Mars15.jpg
Goursac-Mars13.jpg
visions-mars09-1280x1024.jpg
visions-mars09-1440x900.jpg

There are also "old" cited in post # 61:
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/p...rs.html#surface
But quality is not perfect ...

Here's another one from Ricardo Nunes who also worked with Ted Stryk's super-resolution images as mentioned in post #5 of this thread.

So I tried (for testing) the assembly of the luminance of the panorama of Olivier (post # 41) and the color of the Scalbers image (Post # 61), it is not perfect for several reasons:
- There is not color image with the arm in this position
- Several holes and pebbles are moved between the two.
- The sun is not at the same position.

But in a small piece, This is not bad :


now I try to make a low-resolution color panorama which corresponds more to high-resolution panorama ...
To be continued ...

[ElkGroveDan]

now I try to make a low-resolution color panorama which corresponds more to high-resolution panorama ...
To be continued ...

Thanks for sharing your nice work Vanden. Next time please post your image as an attachment rather than a link to the full image. (your post above has been edited to do so.) A lot of people use slow connections or browse with their handhold phones and these large images can present a problem. Best to give people the choice of viewing the entire image.