• 446 RDRs, 0.18 TB
• 6238 EDRs, 0.18 TB
• 5126 RDR Extras, 0.28 TB
• 12,464 EDR Extras 2.5 GB
• 16 Anaglyphs 0.001 TB

Totals for this release: 24,274 images, 0.62 TB

This brings our total released product numbers and data volume to:

• 23,122 RDRs, 12.2 TB
• 323,358 EDRs, 10.6 TB
• 196,058 RDR Extras, 15.6 TB
• 625,233, EDR Extras, 0.1 TB
• 1,192 Anaglyphs 0.5 TB

Total: 1,167,771 images, 37.7 TB

Just because we are not currently taking images does not mean we are slacking off. The Downlink team is busy reprocessing and validating all ESP observations. After reprocessing, these observations will all benefit from the same improvements we have made to our processing pipelines over the past several months. I also recently started reprocessing PSP observations, which is a much larger data set that will sync improvement to our processing pipelines made over the past few years! We are keeping busy and we are even getting help from the Uplink team while they wait for the go ahead to start taking new images of the Martian surface. Of course we all want that to happen as quickly as possible!

The next cycle, however, will mark some changes in the way we do the planning process. This is cycle 58 (can you believe it’s been that many cycles since we started??). For most of that time, we’ve been doing things in much the same way. We’ve gotten so good at it that everyone decided they wanted to change everything & mess it all up. haha, just kidding. We’re actually trying to simplify things. Even though we’ve gotten pretty good at this, it’s still an incredibly complex process. We would like to continue doing it for a long time and still remain sane. Also, we expect that our funding will be cut in the future, and we want to make sure we can still do everything even if we have fewer people. Plus, things just wouldn’t feel right if we weren’t constantly changing something!

If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty details, here are some of the things we’re changing:

• We’re combining some deliveries – instead of choosing our “must-haves” (these are our top five highest-priority images each cycle) separately, we’re just putting them at the top of the big list we submit for the whole cycle. This means fewer files to create, check, and deliver, and – best of all – one less meeting (and it was a doozy of a meeting!).
• We’re giving up some autonomy by allowing the Cycle Coordinator (this is the person at JPL that combines all the teams’ input) to resolve conflicts between observations. This means we don’t have a chance to fix every problem ourselves, but we just have to trust them to do it right! This is going to save us an extra iteration of our target list – another thing we won’t have to create, tweak, check, re-check, and deliver every week.
• We’re simplifying the way we add “ride-along” observations (this is when we take an image at the same place & time as another instrument on MRO). Previously we did this by going back & forth between the operations person & the science team member (”CIPP”) – now we’re going to just go ahead & add a “placeholder” observation to go with every one of the other teams’ observations. Then when we hand everything over to the CIPP for planning detailed image parameters, they only plan the ones they want to keep. This should save a few steps of back-and-forth, and also allows the CIPP more time to consider all the possible ride-alongs.

We’re hoping all the changes go well!

I can’t believe it’s been two years since the last conjunction and the start of PSP! A lot has changed since we started out with those first images. Check out some of these early blog entries to see how far we’ve come:

• Preparing for Transition Phase imaging and beyond
  

• First look at our initial images from mapping orbit.
• Opportunity! – use of one of our early images to help plan a rover drive.

The last image we’re planning on taking during PSP will be PSP_010901_2265: a new cluster of craters that we think formed very recently. For comparison, to the right is another cluster of recent craters that we imaged last winter (PSP_007431_1870). This should be a great image to finish off this phase of the mission!

Don’t worry, though, the end of PSP is far from the end of our mission. MRO has been approved to continue science operations for another two years. That time period was originally called the “relay phase” of the mission, when it was thought MRO would mainly be relaying data for Phoenix and MSL. However, now Phoenix is basically done, and MSL won’t be there for a while, so it’s not really a “relay” phase. Instead we’re calling it “ESP” for Extended Science Phase. Although we are making plans to simplify and streamline some of our operations, we expect to be doing things much the same way for the next two years – and hopefully for a long time after that!

View Images

There are, as always, many magnificent images here. Some of the noteworthy observations are:

PSP_001521_2025 and PSP_001501_2280: On the HiRISE web site you can see diagrams made by Tim Parker show the locations of various parts (lander, backshell, heatshield or parachute) for Viking Lander 1 and Viking Lander 2. It’s possible they aren’t in the color strip (I haven’t found them)!

PSP_001508_1245 and PSP_001510_2195: These two exhibit a “glow” pattern of saturated pixels due to high TDI (Time Delay Integration) settings on the blue-green CCDs. (All of the exposure settings are chosen for each observation based on a photometric model of the scene).

PSP_001538_2035: This is a rim-to-rim section across a crater called Tooting that is about 30 kilometers in diameter. It’s also interesting to note how the altitude of the rims, when combined with the large off-nadir roll angle (23 degrees), leads to an oddly bowed geometric projection. But it is correct; as the terrain rose, fell, and rose again from HiRISE’s angled point of view, the center of the ground track deviated slightly east or west from a true great-circle line.

PSP_001558_1325 and PSP_001593_2635: These dune fields are striking, forming incredible patterns.

PSP_001582_2245: Looking like a super-sized area of dried mud, the polygonal cracks in this image are amazing.

Updated (2008-Apr-10)

Click the link below to view a gallery of 50 HiRISE images in the 1300 range, drawn from our online PDS data node. The RGB browse is shown in the window, linked to the full JPEG 2000 using the IAS viewer. The RGB browse scale image is usually scaled down by a factor of 8–in both horizontal and vertical directions–from the JP2 product. So the browse image shows you around 1/64th of the color data: there are vast and beautiful scenes that can only be seen in full by zooming in with IAS. Nevertheless, if you have some time, this is a good way to explore a set of images and get an overall idea of what there is to see.

View Images

Most images are several times taller than your computer screen, so make sure to scroll through each one. Let us know which images are you favorite via the comments form below.

Updated (2008-Apr-10)

The uplink team is constantly looking where to point the camera next. There is a program which is in beta testing now called HiWeb which allows scientists and other people to input suggestions. The Uplink team reviews the suggestions in the database, assigns a priority to each of these suggestions, and then finds when we can point the camera at the part. They also make sure a certain percentage of the upcoming pictures are assigned to look for a Phoenix landing spot, as this is a high priority item at the moment. They are still learning exactly how to best command the camera, and are constantly sharpening their skills.

The downlink team is making sure operations run smoothly at HiROC. They are verifying that the processing has taken place, make sure that the images have been calibrated correctly, that there are no image processing artifacts on the images we are about to release. If there is any artifacts created from processing the image, the source of the problem is identified and fixed, and then the image is reprocessed. While previously we have sent images to the public that had some small processing artifacts during the post-MOI and Transition imaging, we currently are waiting until the images have been completely validated. The downlink team is also taking a quick look at each image that comes down, and making sure there isn’t something unexpected, for example, haze at Mars, lots of saturated pixels, etc. If any such problems are found, they notify the uplink team, to ensure that we don’t have continuing problems. These problems are very rare, but on occasion happen, due to the changing nature of Mars.

During and after the validation process, the images are reviewed by several of the science team members of HiRISE. Things of special nature are noted, and these images receive captions. The others are slated for a more general release. Due to the large size of the HiRISE images, it is almost impossible to search every square inch of the pictures by any one or even a small group of people. I’m sure many of you have noticed this with just the images which have been released, there are many more which are still being validated which have yet to be released.

The Systems team is responsible for making sure that the HiROC computers are all working in top shape. They are quick to find problems when they arise and fix them so that it does not affect the flow of data here. They are preparing servers for two upcoming services that HiROC will provide, HiWeb, which was mentioned previously, and a JPIP server, which will allow for the effective distribution of JPEG 2000 images.

The software team is writing software that will make people’s lives easier. Some are working with the HiPlan suite of tools, which is used to plan upcoming images, to make it even easier to use for the uplink team. Some are working on HiVali, the validation software, which is used to make it easier to verify that an image is ready to release to the public, quickly finding problems with the image. Some are working on HiView, a program which will allow distribution of images over the JPIP protocol to the general public. Still others are working on getting HiWeb ready for public release.

Let me also talk a bit about a few upcoming products mentioned in this entry. HiView will allow you to download only the parts of a HiRISE image that you find most interesting. It will work great, even for those who have slow internet connections. I personally have tested this with a connection rate of 1kBytes/sec, and it works reasonably well even at that slow speed. It will allow the user to save the parts of the image they find the most interesting to their hard drive for future study (HiView will require a constant internet connection to download the image)

Another upcoming product is HiWeb. HiWeb will allow any user (Yes, that’s you!) to suggest future targets to image with the HiRISE camera. Preference is given to targets of scientific interest. The suggestions are given a priority, and placed in a database to be targeted depending on the orbit of MRO and the allocated bandwidth.

So, that’s what’s happening at HiROC these days. In short, we are all very busy, but very much enjoying our work. I personally can’t remember a time that I’ve had as much fun working as these last few months have been. And surely the best is yet to come!

Since before PSP started, we’ve all been working long hours. We haven’t had much time to blog, but right now I’m just waiting nervously for my commands to be radiated, so I thought I’d share this recipe. For all you faithful blog readers out there (all 2 of you? ), here’s my secret to surviving long workdays and cold nights:

Kite’s Red Planet Soup

• 1 gallon-size jar roasted red peppers in water, pureed
• a bunch of carrots, steamed in a small amount of water until soft, and then pureed
• 4 cups pumpkin puree, frozen, from your uncarved Halloween pumpkin
• a pile of brown rice, cooked
• a few cans of soybeans
• vegetable bouillon — keep adding until it tastes good
• a few shakes of cayenne pepper
• salt

Make a whole bunch in a giant pot, simmer for a while, then freeze in individual portions, and you’ll have a delicious and healthy homemade lunch every day! It’s extra good with bread or some cheese grated on top. Perfect for this chilly winter weather we’re having! (Yes, it really does get cold in Tucson!)

Fortified by my daily dose of red goodness, this afternoon I built the commands for the first four days of images in cycle 3. They will be radiated some time this evening. I’m pretty nervous, but I’ve triple- and quadruple-checked every detail of every observation, so there’s not much more I can do but wait…. I only hope these images are as sexybeautiful as HiKu’s and HiPilot’s!

Aside from the scientific significance of this image—which hopefully can tell us how these features formed and how recently—it is one sexybeautiful image, and my personal favorite so far!

This image and twelve others were released today; the first set of Primary Science Phase images from HiRISE.

I would just like to offer my thanks to all of those who helped to make HiRISE at Ball Aerospace, the flight engineers at JPL, operations team, programmers, targeting specialists, scientists, and everyone else involved in the project. The long period of preparation is over, and now we begin with the real thing. Have a fun 2-year PSP all!

That’s GuyMac on the left, HiCommander (me!) in the middle, and HiKu on the right.

HiKu is part of the operations staff on the uplink side of things. He’s on the team that does the targeting and the planning. What was he doing on a Saturday? Same thing he does every day: targeting and planning.

GuyMac and I are part of the software development team—we write the programs the ops team uses to do their job. GuyMac works primarily for the downlink group. He spent the day on a program called HiVali, which will be used by the downlink ops team to make sure a given HiRISE image accomplished its goal.

I work for the uplink group. I spent the day working on a program with the second greatest HiRISE software name: the HOGG. That’s the HiRISE Observation Generation GUI. The “the” is an important part of its name, by they way. You don’t use HOGG to generate HiRISE camera parameters. You use the HOGG.

A lot of our HiRISE tools have funny names; the most common way to name a piece of software here is to get a one-word description of its function and then add “Hi” to it. The planning software? HiPlan. The commanding software? HiCommand. The validation software? HiVali. The camera temperature modeler? HiTemp.

I like “the HOGG” for three reasons. One, who doesn’t like hearing their peers use such a ridiculous word to talk about something serious? Two, it breaks the HiRISE naming convention. And three? I get to correct people and point out that the “the” is part of the name. Still, it’s only my second favorite HiRISE software name. My favorite?

That’d be the HiRISE photometry predictor.

HIPHOP.

I’ll write more about these tools in the coming weeks.