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Cartography of the Apollo 12 landing site from photogrammetric analysis of surface imagery
Abstract
This work represents an Apollo 12 landing site photogrammetric study based on the lunar surface imagery. A set of 303 photographs taken by the crew was used to build up a 3D scene of the landing site. The mapped area includes the Lunar Module (LM) vicinity, Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) deployment site, Surveyor 3 landing site, and Surveyor Crater. The camera station map was composed, locations of artifacts on the lunar surface were accurately determined. Orientations of the LM and Surveyor 3 were found to an accuracy of about 0.5–1°. The depth of Surveyor Crater was determined to an accuracy better than 1 m. The map and coordinates are in a good agreement with image data and Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
... In recent years, we have developed 3D models of the first three Apollo landing sites using an extensive photogrammetric analysis of numerous photos (Pustynski & Jones, 2014;Pustynski, 2022Pustynski, , 2021aPustynski, , 2021bPugal & Pustynski, 2022). Our high-precision models include camera coordinates and rotations. ...
... A detailed description of the process for creating a photogrammetric model of an Apollo landing site can be found in Pustynski and Jones (2014) and Pustynski (2021a). The resulting model includes coordinates and rotations of camera stations. ...
... The Sun can be used in all models, despite its center being difficult to determine due to glare. However, its direction can be deduced by analyzing the shadows cast by tall pointed objects such as the flagpole or the SWC pole (Pustynski, 2021a). Earth is present in photos from the Apollo 11 and Apollo 14 missions, and its center can be easily identified as the center of the circumscribed circle. ...
Based on photogrammetric models of the first three Apollo landing sites, we have created a method to project virtual objects onto photos taken on the lunar surface. We have applied this method to search for stars in high-resolution scans of Apollo lunar photos and to restore views of the starry sky in some iconic images. Our method can be used to incorporate computer-generated 3D graphics, such as constellation boundaries, coordinate and contour lines, into lunar images. This research has several applications, including the visualization of digital terrain models, the creation of a virtual planetarium based on lunar photos, and demonstration of object motion in lunar gravity for educational purposes.
... From lab experiments, an empirical recommendation would be to take images of the sample on a rotating stage by steps of ~15° horizontaly with both a side view and a view at ~45° taken at each step, and to repeat the process on at least 2 or 3 different orthogonal positions of the rock to get both sides. The photogrammetric reconstruction can also be carried out in other landing sites (Pustynski, 2021). On Station 6, new photogrammetric studies might possibly be conducted in the future in order to further evaluate the benefit of using a different calibration of the two cameras in the photogrammetric processing of this specific data set, and using possible additional constrains derived from super-resolution studies of orthorectified LRO NAC images. ...
... Then these coordinates were stored in an Excel file. Initially I planned to write a Python script to do this feature, but manual copying of coordinates from ImageModeler was more time-efficient than writing a dedicated parser for ImageModeler output files [2]. This results in the code returning a filtered list of coordinates as a Python integrated list and as a separate file ...
The aim of this graduation thesis entitled “Models of Apollo hardware based on
photogrammetric analysis of the surface imagery” was to accurately create a
three-dimensional model of the panoramic photographs that were taken during the
Apollo 14 Lunar mission.
The analysis was performed on a total of 65 images, determining the location of objects
such as boulders and hardware elements. Autodesk ImageModeler was used to find the
relative coordinates of the boulders and then the mean boulder plane equation was
calculated. The equation of the mean boulder plane was found to be 0.118x + 0.043y -
z= 0.053. This was followed by the transformation of the coordinates of all the points of
the Apollo 14 hardware elements to a topocentric frame. Vector algebra and matrices
were used to transform the points. The coordinates of hardware elements were
transformed through a total of three rotations to match the XY plane of the model to the
local horizontal plane. The Solar azimuth was also determined using JPL HORIZONS.
The mean boulder plane was then modeled using Blender. The coordinates of the points
of the Apollo 14 hardware elements were then plotted on the mean boulder plane,
creating a rudimentary model of the Apollo 14 landing site. Hardware elements of the
Apollo 14 were then sketched using Blender. These models were then aligned with the
plane and the coordinates of the points. Angle of elevation of the Sun was calculated,
and the Sun was placed in the model accordingly, creating an accurate three dimensional
model of the Apollo 14 landing site.
Comparing the results achieved with the images and the data provided by my
supervisor. I am satisfied with the results and success of this work. I believe this is a
very promising concept to continue my research on as extraterrestrial colonization is a
key factor in the survival of human civilization. The ability to correctly model surfaces of
celestial objects from photographs would be in high demand in the future.
In the future I would like to fully automate a lot of the processes that I performed
manually here. An object detection algorithm would determine and track the location of
objects and elements. The transformation of these coordinates would then be performed
automatically by the algorithm. This would increase the efficiency and time spent in
order to create the model.
I have thoroughly enjoyed working on this project. It has been a great learning
experience and I could not have completed it without the mentoring and the guidance of
Mr. Pustynski.
We carried out an extensive cartographic analysis of the Apollo 17 landing site and determined and mapped positions of the astronauts, their equipment and lunar landmarks with accuracies of better than ±1 m in most cases. To determine coordinates in a lunar body-fixed coordinate frame we applied least-squares (2D-) network adjustments to angular measurements made in astronaut imagery (Hasselblad frames). The measured angular networks were accurately tied to control features provided by a 0.5 m/pixel, controlled Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) orthomosaic of the entire Taurus-Littrow Valley. Furthermore, by applying triangulation on measurements made in Hasselblad frames providing stereo views, we were able to relate individual instruments of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP) to specific features captured in LROC imagery and, also, to determine coordinates of astronaut equipment or other surface features not captured in the orbital images, e.g. the deployed geophones and Explosive Packages (EPs) of the Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment (LSPE), or the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) at major sampling stops. Our results were integrated into a new LROC NAC based Apollo 17 Traverse Map and also used to generate a series of large-scale maps of all nine traverse stations and of the ALSEP area. In addition, we provide crater measurements, profiles of the navigated traverse paths, and improved ranges of the sources and receivers of the active seismic experiment LSPE.
We used photogrammetry to study surface photographs made by the crew of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module (LM). We represent photogrammetrically determined locations of 116 from total 123 camera stations (6 additional stations were located approximately based on auxiliary data), hardware left on the surface and natural features. Our analysis improves results of earlier determinations made with rough methods. Errors of distances from the LM to the EASEP instruments have been reduced from meters in the map from the Preliminary Scientific Report to about 0.1 m. Determined locations were compared to positions of artifacts in orbital photographs made by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC); an excellent agreement was established. We identified at least 58 boulders seen both in LROC images and in EVA photographs. Distance accuracies are mostly within 3 percent. A new, more exact and detailed map of Tranquility Base was composed.
The remanent magnetic fields measured to date on the moon are 38 plus or minus 3 gamma at Apollo 12 in Oceanus Procellarum; 103 plus or minus 5 and 43 plus or minus 6 gamma at two Apollo 14 sites separated by 1.1 km in Fra Mauro; and 6 plus or minus 4 gamma at the Apollo 15 Hadley-Apennines site. Measurements show that the 38-gamma remanent field at Apollo 12 is compressed to 54 gamma by a solar wind pressure increase of 7 x 10 to the minus 8th dyne/sq cm. The change in magnetic pressure is proportional to the change in plasma pressure, and the field is compressed primarily in the z (northerly) component. The electrical conductivity of the lunar interior has been determined from magnetic step transient measurements made on the lunar dark side. A range of monotonic conductivity profiles is calculated that provides a fit to the normalized data curve within error limits. Deeper than 90 km into the moon, the conductivity rises from 0.0003 mhos/m to 0.01 mhos/m at 1000 km depth. These conductivities, when converted to temperatures for an assumed lunar material of peridotite, suggest the existence of a thin outer layer (perhaps 90 km thick) in which the temperature rises sharply to 850 to 1050 K, then increases gradually to 1200 to 1500 K at a depth of about 1000 km.
Coordinates and maps of the Apollo 17 landing site
- Wagner
Spacecraft orientation and exposure to environment
- Nicle
Photodocumenting Sample Sites by Close-Range Photogrammetry on a New Crewed Mission to the Moon
- R A Wells
- L F Dechant
- B P Weiss
- H H Schmitt