Brown University researchers have perfected a shading-free shape technique for mapping the Moon, making the process faster and more detailed. This advancement will help make mission planning safer and more efficient, especially for target areas such as the Moon’s south pole. A new study could help rethink the way scientists map the lunar surface, making the process more streamlined and accurate than ever before.

Released on May 28 Journal of Planetary Science Research by Brown scholars Benjamin Boatwright and James Head describes the development of a mapping technique called “shading shape.” This technique is used to create detailed models of the lunar surface, craters, ridges, slopes, and other surface hazards. By analyzing how light hits different surfaces on the moon, it allows researchers to estimate the three-dimensional shape of an object or surface based on a collection of two-dimensional images.

Improving the security and exploration of the Moon

Accurate maps can help lunar mission planners identify safe landing sites and areas of scientific interest, making mission operations smoother and more successful.

“It helps us get a better idea of ​​what’s actually out there,” said Boatwright, a postdoctoral researcher in Brown’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences and lead author of the new paper. “We need to understand the topography of the Moon’s surface, where there is not a lot of light, such as the shadowed areas of the Moon’s south pole where NASA’s Artemis missions are targeted. This will allow autonomous landing software to navigate and avoid hazards such as large boulders and boulders that could threaten the mission. Therefore, the topography of the surface is possible.” “You need models that represent the highest resolution possible because the more detail the better.”

Optimization of the mapping process

However, the process of developing accurate maps is time-consuming and has limitations when it comes to handling complex lighting conditions, imprecise interpretation of shadows, and terrain variability. Brown researchers’ development of the shading technique aims to solve these problems.

In the study, scientists explain how advanced computer algorithms can be used to automate much of the process and significantly increase the resolution of the models. The new software gives lunar scientists the tools to create larger maps of the lunar surface with finer details, the researchers said.

Advanced lunar mapping technologies

“Shading requires that the images you use to create these layers of information be perfectly aligned with each other, that the object in one image be in the same place in the other image, but existing tools do not do this. “Where you can feed it a lot of visuals, the perfect product comes out,” Boatwright said. “We implemented an image alignment algorithm that selects features in one image and tries to find the same features in another and then aligns them, so you don’t have to manually track points of interest across multiple images, which takes hours and brainpower.”

Researchers also applied quality control algorithms and additional filters to reduce outliers in the alignment process; these tools ensure that aligned images actually match and also remove misaligned images. Selecting only images suitable for use improves quality and increases accuracy down to sub-meter resolution. Speed ​​also allows exploration of larger surface areas, increasing the production of these maps.

Comparison and future applications

The researchers evaluated the accuracy of their maps by comparing them to other existing topographic models, looking for inconsistencies or errors in the features of the lunar surface. They found that maps created using the improved shading method were more accurate than those created using traditional methods and showed more subtle features and differences in lunar surface topography.

For the study, the researchers mainly used data from the Lunar Orbiter laser altimeter and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera, instruments aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that has been orbiting the Moon since 2009.

Scientists plan to use their advanced software to create lunar maps and hope others will use it in modeling studies. That’s why they used open source algorithms to build the tool.

Impact on lunar exploration

“These new mapping products are significantly better than what we had for exploration planning during the Apollo missions, and they will greatly improve mission planning and science returns for the Artemis and robotic missions,” said Head, a professor of geological sciences at Brown. He worked on the Apollo program.

Researchers hope the new device will contribute to the current interest in lunar science and research conducted at NASA and space agencies around the world.

“There is a tremendous amount of information that can be gained by making these types of tools available to everyone,” Boatwright said. “This is an equitable way to do science.”