Thread: help NASA map mars

You count craters or align hi res photo data over low basically...and one day, years from now probably when we're dead and gone, some explorer could be using the data you helped out on!

My first thought was...Lord help that poor soul, LOL.

It is an interesting way to spend some extra time though.

LOL that beeb image of the crater is the one I use to stick to my MDF sheets for warhammer 40K. I have lined up many a Drednaught on the inside of that !

Anyway, back on topic... its interesting that JPL are running this since they have great image processing tools. Microsoft had this utterly amazing video of some research they are doing. Now I forget which name it was but it was taking loads and loads of flickr images and aligning them up with some afine perspective corrections and merging them all together. So you had loads of different shots of some church and you could seamlessly zoom around the church going into features that other people had taken closer. Should not the same thing apply with craters. Maybe all the craters look the same even to a computer ???

Well I hope some people have more spare time than I have then.

Originally Posted by Redrobes

... Now I forget which name it was but it was taking loads and loads of flickr images and aligning them up with some afine perspective corrections and merging them all together. So you had loads of different shots of some church and you could seamlessly zoom around the church going into features that other people had taken closer....

Are you thinking of Panoramio ?

click on the 'Look Around' link

Yeah I love the idea of this mars thing, had a go,about 3 weeks ago but havent got the time since. It can become mind melting fairly quickly after the novelty wears off, but the odd session now and again ...if you have the time.

No I had a hunt and found it. It was photosynth but check out the SeaDragon at the same time. Even if something possesses you to stop part way through then check out from 3:15 or so onwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKwTurQgiak

So this seems exactly what they are asking people to do.

It may be possible to do these things automatically in many cases, but the PR value of having lots of people look at what you're doing and having them feel invested in your work is invaluable. If someone has their kid say "Look, I did that" then it's good incentive for both parent and child to make an effort to keep the current and future space programs alive, even if there isn't a lot of scientific value.