Mars: High-resolution Digital Terrain Model and Ortho-image Mosaic on the Basis of Mex/hrsc Data

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express (MEX) has been orbiting Mars since December 2003. One of the main aims is to cover Mars globally in color and stereoscopically at high resolution. HRSC has so far covered almost half of the surface of Mars at a resolution better than 20 meters per pixel. High resolution digital terrain models (DTM) are necessary for geoscientific studies of Mars. To get a more comprehensive view of regional processes on Mars, images as well as topographic data have to be mosaicked photogrammetrically. This paper briefly describes the simultaneous adjustment of exterior orientation for six HRSC orbit strips covering the Mawrth Vallis region, based on tie point matching and bundle block adjustment as well as the derivation of a DTM mosaic with a ground resolution of 75 m per pixel and an ortho-image mosaic with a ground resolution of 12.5 m per pixel.