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Multi-temporal spacecraft observations are key to detect and understand surface changes and time-critical processes on Mars. Since the 1970s, the number of orbital observations of Mars has increased to over one million images. The observations have revealed that the surface of Mars is changing due to exogenic processes, including eolian activity, mass movement, seasonal ice and frost cover, and crater-forming impacts. The increasing number of observations highlights the importance of efficient and convenient tools for planetary image data management and change detection analyses. To support the identification of surface changes we developed the Multi-Temporal Database of Planetary Image Data (MUTED), which is accessible at “ http://muted.wwu.de ”. The database enables scientists to quickly identify the spatial and multi-temporal coverage of planetary image data from Mars. As a basis for various change detection analyses, the location, number, and time range of acquisitions of overlapping images taken by the Viking Orbiter (VO), the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), the Thermal Emission Imaging Instrument (THEMIS), the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer of Mars (CRISM) and the Context Camera (CTX) as well as future instruments (e.g., Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS)) can be identified. The database will assist and optimize image data searches to support the analysis and understanding of short-term, seasonal, and long-term processes at the surface and in the atmosphere of Mars. To demonstrate the capability and scientific potential of the database, we analyzed the occurrence of dark slope streaks and observed their formation within a time interval of <∼5 days in different regions on Mars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Images of Mars taken by spacecraft in the last few decades indicate that the landscape has changed and that current processes are continuously changing the surface. The modifications of the landscape are caused by exogenic processes including eolian activity, mass movement, the growth and retreat of the polar caps, glacial processes and crater-forming impacts. In particular the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board Mars Express (MEx) and the Context Camera (CTX) on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) cover large areas at high resolution and thus are particularly well-suited to detect the extent and origin of surface changes on Mars. Multi-temporal observations of variable features on Mars became possible by the increasing number of repeated image acquisitions of the same surface areas. To support the investigation of surface changes that represents a key element in martian research, we developed MUTED, the “Multi-Temporal Database of Planetary Image Data”, which is a tool for the identification of the spatial and multi-temporal coverage of planetary image data from Mars. Using MUTED, scientists are able to identify the location, number, and time range of acquisitions of overlapping images from, for example, HRSC and CTX. MUTED also includes images from other planetary datasets such as those of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), and the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). The database supports the identification and analysis of surface changes and short-lived surface processes on Mars based on fast automatic planetary image database queries. From the multi-temporal planetary image database and investigations based on multi-temporal observations we will better understand the interactions between the surface of Mars and external forces, including the atmosphere. MUTED is available for the planetary scientific community via the webpage of the Institut für Planetologie (IfP) Muenster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) of ESA׳s Mars Express is designed to map and investigate the topography of Mars. The camera, in particular its Super Resolution Channel (SRC), also obtains images of Phobos and Deimos on a regular basis. As HRSC is a push broom scanning instrument with nine CCD line detectors mounted in parallel, its unique feature is the ability to obtain along-track stereo images and four colors during a single orbital pass. The sub-pixel accuracy of 3D points derived from stereo analysis allows producing DTMs with grid size of up to 50 m and height accuracy on the order of one image ground pixel and better, as well as corresponding orthoimages. Such data products have been produced systematically for approximately 40% of the surface of Mars so far, while global shape models and a near-global orthoimage mosaic could be produced for Phobos. HRSC is also unique because it bridges between laser altimetry and topography data derived from other stereo imaging instruments, and provides geodetic reference data and geological context to a variety of non-stereo datasets. This paper, in addition to an overview of the status and evolution of the experiment, provides a review of relevant methods applied for 3D reconstruction and mapping, and respective achievements. We will also review the methodology of specific approaches to science analysis based on joint analysis of DTM and orthoimage information, or benefitting from high accuracy of co-registration between multiple datasets, such as studies using multi-temporal or multi-angular observations, from the fields of geomorphology, structural geology, compositional mapping, and atmospheric science. Related exemplary results from analysis of HRSC data will be discussed. After 10 years of operation, HRSC covered about 70% of the surface by panchromatic images at 10–20 m/pixel, and about 97% at better than 100 m/pixel. As the areas with contiguous coverage by stereo data are increasingly abundant, we also present original data related to the analysis of image blocks and address methodology aspects of newly established procedures for the generation of multi-orbit DTMs and image mosaics. The current results suggest that multi-orbit DTMs with grid spacing of 50 m can be feasible for large parts of the surface, as well as brightness-adjusted image mosaics with co-registration accuracy of adjacent strips on the order of one pixel, and at the highest image resolution available. These characteristics are demonstrated by regional multi-orbit data products covering the MC-11 (East) quadrangle of Mars, representing the first prototype of a new HRSC data product level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]