Aerial Mapping Planetary Bodies

Photographic mapping missions over planetary bodies present a number of interesting hardware, operational, data retrieval, and data analysis techniques. Broadly speaking, such a mapping mission can be conducted with present level state-of-the-art equipment. The space-craft and photographic equipment must perform over long periods of time unattended in the hostile space environment. Operations must support the mission and retrieve the photographic data. Maximum data are limited by photographic capacity, operations capacity, and analysis capacity. Data analysis techniques are under development and computer maps have been developed for RANGER analysis; these techniques can be especially suited to analysis of the video (analog or digital) signal transmitted back to Earth.