AUTOMATIC FEATURE REGISTRATION AND DEM GENERATION FOR MARTIAN SURFACE MAPPING

In this paper, we introduce the results of automatic registration, bundle adjustment, and DEM generation from panoramic close-range images taken on the 1997 Mars Pathfinder mission. Image registration is based on Forstner interest points, cross-correlation coefficient-based matching, parallax verification, and graph consistency verification. A free-network approach is used for bundle adjustment. The final product is a seamless DEM of the landing site created by a five-step process: automatic registration of intrastereo images, coarse DEM generation, automatic registration of inter-stereo images, bundle adjustment of the entire panorama, and seamless DEM generation.