Mercury MESSENGER MDIS DTMs Fassett 2016

Primary Authors

Caleb I. Fassett

Originators

PDS

Publisher

USGS Astrogeology Science Center

Publication Date

2016-12-01

Abstract

In this study, 96 digital terrain models (DTM/DEMs) and derived orthorecitifed images of Mercury were created using the NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline, using 1456 pairs of stereo images from the Mercury Dual Imaging System instrument on MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission. Although these DTMs cover only ~1% of the surface of Mercury, they enable three-dimensional characterization of landforms at horizontal resolutions of ~50–250 m/pixel and vertical accuracy of tens of meters. This is valuable in regions where the more precise measurements from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) are sparse. MLA measurements nonetheless provide an important geodetic framework for the derived stereo products. These DTMs, which are publicly released in conjunction with the Fassett 2016 journal article, reveal topography of features at relatively small scales, including craters, graben, hollows, pits, scarps, and wrinkle ridges. Measurements from these data indicate that: (1) hollows have a median depth of ~32 m, in basic agreement with earlier shadow measurement, (2) some of the deep pits (up to ~4 km deep) that are interpreted to form via volcanic processes on Mercury have surrounding rims or rises, but others do not, and (3) some pits have two or more distinct, low-lying interior minima that could represent multiple vents. References: Fassett, Caleb I., 2016, Ames stereo pipeline-derived digital terrain models of Mercury from MESSENGER stereo imaging, Planetary and Space Science Volume 134, 1 December 2016, Pages 19-28, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2016.10.001 Beyer, Ross, Oleg, Alexandrov, McMichael, Scott, 2018, The Ames Stereo Pipeline: NASA's Open Source Software for Deriving and Processing Terrain Data. Earth and Space Science. 5. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2018EA000409 Hawkins III, S.E., J.D. Boldt, E.H. Darlington, R. Espiritu, R. Gold, B. Gotwols, M.P. Grey, C.D. Hash, J.R. Hayes, S.E. Jaskulek, C.J. Kardian Jr., M.R. Keller, E.R. Malaret, S.L. Murchie, P.K. Murphy, K. Peacock, L.M. Prockter, A.R. Reiter, M.S. Robinson, E.D. Schaefer, R.G. Shelton, R.E. Sterner II, H.W. Taylor, T.R. Watters, B.D. Williams, 2007, The Mercury dual imaging system on the MESSENGER spacecraft, Space Sci. Rev., 131, pp. 247-338, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-007-9266-3 Zuber, M.T. et al., 2012, Topography of the Northern Hemisphere of Mercury from MESSENGER laser altimetry Science, 336 (2012), pp. 217-220, doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1218805

Purpose

Topographic information is useful for enhancing the interpretation of this image data and determining the relief of landforms. The focus of this study was on creating numerous local-to-regional-scale high resolution DTMs with resolution of ~250 m/pixel or better, covering as much of the Mercury surface as possible. These data provide local topography for parts of the Mercury’s surface, including areas with hollows, craters, and pits.

Contact and Distribution

Format

Digital Elevation Model, Image, Raster Data, Remote-sensing Data, Topographic Map

Access Constraints

please cite authors

Access Scope

PDS, Photogrammetry

Use Constraints

public domain

Edition

2

Edition Name

Version

Supplemental Information

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2016.10.001

Native Data Set Environment

ESRI Arcinfo, GDAL

Astrogeology Theme

Geographic Information System (GIS), Image Processing, Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, Topography

Mission Names

MESSENGER

Instrument Names

MDIS

Online Package Link

https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/mercury_messenger_mdis_dtms_fassett_2016

External File Size

273009758

Online File Link

http://astropedia.astrogeology.usgs.gov/download/Mercury/Topography/Fassett_MDIS_Stereo/Fassett_MESSENGER_MDIS_DEMs.zip

Contact Address

2255 N. Gemini Drive

Contact City

Flagstaff

Contact State

AZ

Contact Postal Code

86001

Contact Email

astroweb@usgs.gov

Data Status and Quality

Time Period of Content (start)

2016-12-01

Time Period of Content (stop)

2016-12-01

Currentness Reference

Publication date

Progress

Complete

Update Frequency

None planned

Logical Consistency

The post-processing procedures for the resulting point clouds varied depending on the availability of nearby stereo data and sufficient Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) point data to tie the point cloud to the MLA reference frame. Where stereo data overlapped sufficiently, as usually was the case, point clouds were mosaicked to each other by applying a rigid translation to match the point clouds using Iterative Closest Point registration with the Ames Stereo Pipeline's pc_align tool. For more see Fassett 2016.

Completeness Report

DTMs are sporadically located and cover only ~1% of the surface of Mercury.

Process Description

The NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline (v.2.4.2) and the USGS Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS) (v.3.4.7, later upgraded through 3.4.10) packages were the primary tools used for photogrammetric processing. ISIS was used to ingest, calibrate MDIS data, and attach spacecraft attitude information, which were then fed to the Ames Stereo Pipeline on a stereo pairwise basis, as described in more detail in Section 2.5. After processing, the stereo DTMs and associated orthoimages are imported to ESRI's ArcMap for analysis.

Source Title

MESSENGER MDIS Archive

Source Online Linkage

https://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/portal/messenger_mission.html

Source PDS Archive

MESSENGER

PDS Status

Locally Archived

Attribute Accuracy Report

Best Effort

Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report

Best Effort

Geospatial Information

Target

Mercury

Minimum Latitude

-22.1

Maximum Latitude

70.8

Minimum Longitude

-158.5

Maximum Longitude

155

Direct Spatial Reference Method

Raster

Object Type

Grid Cell

Bit Type (8, 16, 32)

32

Quad Name

Radius A

2440000

Radius C

2440000

Control Net

MLA

Bands

1

Vertical Coordinate System Units

Meters

Map Projection Name

Sinusoidal

Latitude Type

Planetocentric

Longitude Direction

Positive East

Longitude Domain

-180 to 180