3D Visualization for Phoenix Mars Lander Science Operations

Planetary surface exploration missions present considerable operational challenges in the form of substantial communication delays, limited communication windows, and limited communication bandwidth. A 3D visualization software was developed and delivered to the 2008 Phoenix Mars Lander (PML) mission. The components of the system include an interactive 3D visualization environment called “Mercator,” terrain reconstruction software called the “Ames Stereo Pipeline,” and a server providing distributed access to terrain models. The software was successfully utilized during the mission for science analysis, site understanding, and science operations activity planning.