Frequently Asked Questions

Authorized Users

Access is open to all PIs, co-Is, participating scientists, collaborators, and personnel who have accepted the MSL Rules of the Road and are listed in that document..    

Do not use your JPL password for this site.  Change it here if you have.

Data Release Policy and Citation

Please review the Rules of the Road for data policy questions concerning access, sharing, and distribution of content on this web site.

Images should be cited NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Update Schedule

The mosaic images and EDR Quicklooks are updated approximately every 15-30 minutes.   There is a page update time at the bottom of the mosaics page and the top of the Quicklook pages.   The image products on this site are published by Malin Space Science Systems.   Images are from the Mastcam 34 mm, Mastcam 100 mm, MAHLI, and MARDI imaging cameras.

Mosaic Products

Processing

Mosaics are created using an automated process and are not reviewed prior to being added to the web page. They are created by registering the component images, mapping pixels into the mosaic image and blending the seams. Mapping is done assuming the scene is a flat plane. This process may introduce one or more of the following artifacts into the mosaic:

1. Mis-registration errors
2. Mapping distortion (see below)
3. Distortion due to terrain incorrectly mapped as a plane
4. Artifacts created by the seam blending process (Laplacian blending)
5. Artifacts introduced by bicubic interpolation
6. Artifacts caused by missing data or vignetting in the source images

Please compare the mosaic with the raw source images to verify that there are no artifacts. Mis-registration errors may occur which may either occlude a feature or replicate it. The source images can be found on their respective EDR image pages. The names are present in the annotated overlay image, once available.

• Mastcam 34 mm
• Mastcam 100 mm

Post map processing:

1. RGB coefficients are applied to each band

   [R',G',B'] = [1.0 R, 1.16 G, 1.86 B]

2. linearly scaled from 16 bit value space to 8 bits
3. compressed and stored using the PNG image format

Map Projections

There are three types of mosaics:

• Spherical Equirectangular maps

  • x and y coordinates represent azimuth and elevation angles from a single point
  • This includes most mastcam mosaics
  • There is distortion close to the rover (large depression angles)

• Perspective image

  • x and y coordinates represent constant distance in the focal plane
  • Straight lines in the scene map to straight lines in the mosaic
  • Used for workspace mosaics and ML wheel images
  • Distortion is largest at the edges of the mosaic

• Vertical maps

  • x and y coordinates represent constant distance on the ground in meters
  • Used most commonly for starboard mosaics
  • Distortion is largest farther from the rover or where the topography differs from a flat plane

Supplementary Products

Some mosaics will have additional products which include

• Large, or Full Size Mosaics

  For mosaics which are larger than 7000 pixels wide, in consideration of browser limitations, a full resolution mosaic is available.

• Anaglyphs

  Some mosaics will have an icon indicating a red/blue anaglyph is available.

• Context Mosaics

  Some mosaics will have a context mosaic utilizing relevant NAVCAM imagery with the Mastcam 34 mm mosaic to provide a wider view of the scene. These images are projected off the NAVCAM terrain generated by OPGS. These may have holes corresponding to missing data in the NAVCAM range maps (RNGL products) that could not be filled in. In order to improve continuity between the two types of imagery, the NAVCAM images are tinted to match the Mastcam mosaic. The resolution of the context mosaic is 50% of the full resolution Mastcam mosaic.

• 16 Bit

  These are a version of mosaics without color processing or dynamic range compression. As the MMM instruments capture images with 12 bit resolution, this product contains all values captured by the instruments. Note that most web browsers and some image viewing software cannot properly display PNG images with 16 bit depth. Software with 16 bit support and workflows include Hugin and Photoshop.

• Overlay

  This product is a reduced size mosaic with outlines of the source images and labeled image IDs (PICNOs). The original image ID product may be found on its corresponding EDR page.

EDR Quicklook Products

Image IDs/Names

Image names used on the web page conform to the convention outlined in the MMM SIS in Section 3.4.   The names on this site are preliminary until the final product is released to the Planetary Data System archives.

Processing

Processing steps applied to original image

1. Decompression
2. Bayer interpolation, if necessary
3. 16 bit images are linearly scaled to 8 bits

Processing steps not applied

1. Color correction or modification
2. Brightness or contrast stretches
3. Resampling or resizing, images are the original size as acquired
4. Cropping, images may contain dark columns
5. Linearization, rectification, or any geometric transformations
6. Bad pixel, hot pixel, or blemish removal

Image Details Panel

1. UTC - time of image acquisition
2. Filter - central frequency of the optical filter used during image capture
3. Focus distance - value is the approximate distance from the camera optical center to best focus, error increases with obliqueness and terrain irregularity