DIGITAL

Processing of Perseverance Image Data has begun

The Mars 2020 mission has been running smoothly since launch.

The Austrian team's first 3D visualisation with data from day 2 of the mission (Sol 2)
The Austrian team's first 3D visualisation with data from day 2 of the mission (Sol 2). Credit: ASU/MSSS/JR/VRVis

Already on the third day of the mission, the Austrian Mastcam-Z team of the Perseverance Mars Mission obtained around 200 images for a complete stereo panorama.

Under the direction of Key Researcher Gerhard Paar, the experts from the DIGITAL Institute's Machine Vision and Applications research group were able to automatically create a complete 3D reconstruction of the rover's surroundings (up to a distance of about 50m) in just a few hours using their software, which was also made available on YouTube. This animated visualisation has already been clicked on more than 100,000 times.

Ingenuity

These days, the mission is focusing on preparations for the flight of the Ingenuity helicopter. After initial tests of rotor movements, cameras and navigation equipment, the helicopter will ascend into the thin Martian atmosphere on Sol 51 (the 51st Martian day after landing). The Mastcam-Z stereo camera system will film the drone from a safe distance. This data will be available to the Austrian team within a few hours (as soon as one of several Mars satellites passes the Jezero crater). This will allow measurements of the trajectory or analyses of the spacecraft's structure during the flight.

Martian Material

From a scientific point of view, it will be decided in the next few weeks how to approach the Jezero delta, which is the actual scientific environment of the mission and where sampling for a later "Mars Sample Return" of Martian material to Earth will take place.

 

LINKS:

Visualisation on YouTube: Mastcam-Z Sol3 34mm Stereo Panorama 3D Reconstruction

Mission Website: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

Mastcam-Z Website: https://mastcamz.asu.edu/