Correcting spacecraft jitter in hirise images

S. S. Sutton, A. K. Boyd, R. L. Kirk, D. Cook, J. W. Backer, A. Fennema, R. Heyd, A. S. McEwen, S. D. Mirchandani

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mechanical oscillations or vibrations on spacecraft, also called pointing jitter, cause geometric distortions and/or smear in high resolution digital images acquired from orbit. Geometric distortion is especially a problem with pushbroom type sensors, such as the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Geometric distortions occur at a range of frequencies that may not be obvious in the image products, but can cause problems with stereo image correlation in the production of digital elevation models, and in measuring surface changes over time in orthorectified images. The HiRISE focal plane comprises a staggered array of fourteen charge-coupled devices (CCDs) with pixel IFOV of 1 microradian. The high spatial resolution of HiRISE makes it both sensitive to, and an excellent recorder of jitter. We present an algorithm using Fourier analysis to resolve the jitter function for a HiRISE image that is then used to update instrument pointing information to remove geometric distortions from the image. Implementation of the jitter analysis and image correction is performed on selected HiRISE images. Resulting corrected images and updated pointing information are made available to the public. Results show marked reduction of geometric distortions. This work has applications to similar cameras operating now, and to the design of future instruments (such as the Europa Imaging System).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)141-148
Number of pages8
JournalInternational Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS Archives
Volume42
Issue number3W1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 25 2017
Event2017 International Symposium on Planetary Remote Sensing and Mapping, PRSM 2017 - Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Duration: Aug 13 2017Aug 16 2017

Keywords

  • Geometric image correction
  • HiRISE
  • Jitter
  • Mars
  • Pushbroom
  • Remote sensing
  • Spacecraft motion

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Information Systems
  • Geography, Planning and Development

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Correcting spacecraft jitter in hirise images'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this