Identification of the Beagle 2 lander on Mars

Single Image Super-Resolution Restoration of TGO CaSSIS Colour Images: Demonstration with Perseverance Rover Landing Site and Mars Science Targets

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO)’s Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) provides multi-spectral optical imagery at 4–5 m/pixel spatial resolution. Improving the spatial resolution of CaSSIS images would allow greater amounts of scientific information to be extracted. In this work, we propose a novel Multi-scale Adaptive weighted Residual Super-resolution Generative Adversarial Network (MARSGAN) for single-image super-resolution restoration of TGO CaSSIS images, and demonstrate how this provides an effective resolution enhancement factor of about 3 times. We demonstrate with qualitative and quantitative assessments of CaSSIS SRR results over the Mars2020 Perseverance rover’s landing site. We also show examples of similar SRR performance over 8 science test sites mainly selected for being covered by HiRISE at higher resolution for comparison, which include many features unique to the Martian surface. Application of MARSGAN will allow high resolution colour imagery from CaSSIS to be obtained over extensive areas of Mars beyond what has been possible to obtain to date from HiRISE.

Super-Resolution Restoration of MISR Images Using the UCL MAGiGAN System

High spatial resolution Earth observation imagery is considered desirable for many scientific and commercial applications. Given repeat multi-angle imagery, an imaging instrument with a specified spatial resolution, we can use image processing and deep learning techniques to enhance the spatial resolution. In this paper, we introduce the University College London (UCL) MAGiGAN super-resolution restoration (SRR) system based on multi-angle feature restoration and deep SRR networks. We explore the application of MAGiGAN SRR to a set of 9 MISR red band images (275 m) to produce up to a factor of 3.75 times resolution enhancement. We show SRR results over four different test sites containing different types of image content including urban and rural targets, sea ice and a cloud field. Different image metrics are introduced to assess the overall SRR performance, and these are employed to compare the SRR results with the original MISR input images and higher resolution Landsat images, where available. Significant resolution improvement over various types of image content is demonstrated and the potential of SRR for different scientific application is discussed.

Identification of the Beagle 2 lander on Mars

The 2003 Beagle 2 Mars lander has been identified in Isidis Planitia at 90.43° E, 11.53° N, close to the predicted target of 90.50° E, 11.53° N. Beagle 2 was an exobiology lander designed to look for isotopic and compositional signs of life on Mars, as part of the European Space Agency Mars Express (MEX) mission. The 2004 recalculation of the original landing ellipse from a 3-sigma major axis from 174 km to 57 km, and the acquisition of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) imagery at 30 cm per pixel across the target region, led to the initial identification of the lander in 2014. Following this, more HiRISE images, giving a total of 15, including red and blue-green colours, were obtained over the area of interest and searched, which allowed sub-pixel imaging using super high-resolution techniques. The size (approx. 1.5 m), distinctive multilobed shape, high reflectivity relative to the local terrain, specular reflections, and location close to the centre of the planned landing ellipse led to the identification of the Beagle 2 lander. The shape of the imaged lander, although to some extent masked by the specular reflections in the various images, is consistent with deployment of the lander lid and then some or all solar panels. Failure to fully deploy the panels-which may have been caused by damage during landing-would have prohibited communication between the lander and MEX and commencement of science operations. This implies that the main part of the entry, descent and landing sequence, the ejection from MEX, atmospheric entry and parachute deployment, and landing worked as planned with perhaps only the final full panel deployment failing.