[X] My Assistant

[erwan]

I'm annoyed of the difficulties I had to identify far lanscape features on Spirit panoramas.
So I try to compute a mesh (I love meshes!) from MGS MOLA datas http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/mgs/megdr.html , to represent the rim of Gusev as seen by Spirit. I use 128 pixel/degrees data, cropped gusev area, sphericise the heights according to Mars diameter.
Here is a first image computed for SSW octant horizon, compared to a JPL Spirit image (ma-adim_L7_sol161_p2375-A181R1.jpg). I'm amazed by the quality of far landcape rendering from MOLA data, though resolution is only~ 460m/pixel. Alas, all the small hills less than~20km far from the Rover are not represented (ie the flat foreground, but notice the flat big southwest mesas are present in front of the crater rim).
Anyway, I'm happy and hope to render and post a complete 360° synthetic Spirit horizon in the next days.
On the picture: the mesh used is figured at left, colors=altitude; red cross=Spirit location (estimate), other dots: remarkable landmarks also on lower right image.
Hope you will enjoy!

[Nix]

Good morning to you too! I'm scanning the entire set of images for the walls now. I have finished a first version of the panorama for the east wall. If I'm not mistaken a portion of Thyra crater's remaining wall is visible in the foreground just next to Columbia Hills. There is an image of the Hills to be added I think but I will leave that and redo the pan now with 12-bit files. Should be fun...
Lovely horizon view there for sol 324! I'm also gonna try making a 360° pan in B/W of the wall from different sols. Maybe we can overlap our work.
You will have an important piece of work when you add the foreground in your mesh BTW!

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