Toward generalized planetary stereo analysis scheme—Prototype implementation with multi-resolution Martian stereo imagery

Stereo analysis of orbital imagery is highly valuable for scientific research in planetary surface. Thus, the processing of planetary stereo imagery has been progressed with various approaches and resulted in a series of uncontrolled topographic products. In order to fully utilize the data derived from image systems carried on various planetary orbiters, the generalized algorithms of stereo image processing and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) extraction have been developed. Based on Kim and Muller’s approach (2009), the algorithms were updated employing the feed-forwarded model-based matcher and the generic sensor model. It is a sort of iterative stereo procedure delivering the reference data to next stage for 3D zoom-up. Thus the system is capable of processing various stereo data sets with the generic approach and achieves stable photogrammetric accuracy of resultant DTMs. To demonstrate the potential of this stereo processing routine, the DTMs obtained from various Mars orbital images covering some sample test sites were processed with the prototype processor. As the result, the processed DTMs clearly illustrated detailed geological features and high agreement with the height spots of Mars Obiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). It was proved that the overall processing strategy in this paper was effective and the topographic products were accurate and reliable.