Submitted for presentation: Fall AGU, Virtual Globes Session, San Francisco, CA, Dec 2008

Visualizing the Operations of the Phoenix Mars Lander

Kurt Schwehr1, Paul Andres2, Jason Craig2, Robert Deen2, Eric De
Jong2, Nick Fortino3, Zareh Gorjian2, Koji Kuramura2, Mark Lemmon4,
Steve Levoe2, Christopher Leung2, Neil Lutz5, Ryan Ollerenshaw2, Peter
Smith6, Michael Stetson2, Shigeru Suzuki2, and the Phoenix Science
Team

1Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, University of New Hampshire, NH
2Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
3California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
4Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
5University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
6Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

With the successful landing of the Phoenix Mars Lander comes the task
of visualizing the spacecraft, its operations and surrounding
environment.  The JPL Solar System Visualization team has brought
together a wide range of talents and software to provide a suit of
visualizations that shed light on the operations of this visitor to
another world.  The core set of tools range from web-based production
tracking (Image Products Release Website), to custom 3D transformation
software, through to studio quality 2D and 3D video production.  We
will demonstrate several of the key technologies that bring together
these visualizations.

Putting the scientific results of Phoenix in context requires managing
the classic powers-of-10 problem.  Everything from the location of
polar dust storms down to the Atomic Force Microscope must be brought
together in a context that communicates to both the scientific and
public audiences.  We used Lightwave to blend 2D and 3D visualizations
into a continuous series of zooms using both simulations and actual
data.

Beyond the high-powered industrial strength solutions, we have strived
to bring as much power down to the average computer user's standard
view of the computer: the web browser. Zooming and Interactive Mosaics
(ZIM) tool is a JavaScript web tool for displaying high-resolution
panoramas in a spacecraft-centric view.  This tool allows the user to
pan and zoom through the mosaic, indentifying feature and target
names, all the while maintaining a contextual frame-of-reference.

Google Earth presents the possibility of taking hyperlinked web
browser interaction into the 3D geo-browser modality.  Until Google
releases a Mars mode to Google Earth, we are forced to wrap the Earth
in a Mars texture.  However, this can still provide a suitable
background for exploring interactive visualizations. These models
range over both regional and local scales, with the lander positioned
on Mars and the local environment mapped into pseudo-"Street View"
modes. Many visualizations succeed by altering the interaction
metaphor.  Therefore, we have attempted to completely overload the
Google Earth interface from a traditional planetary globe into a
mosaic viewer by mapping the Phoenix Mosaics onto the sphere and using
geographic latitude and longitude coordinates as the camera pointing
coordinates of a Phoenix mosaic.

This presentation focuses on the data management and visualization
aspects of the mission.  For scientific results, please see the
special section "U13 The Phoenix Mission."


Session Abstract: IN02: Visualizing Scientific Data Using KML and
Virtual Globes


Abstract

Since NASA World Wind (2004) and Google Earth (2005) brought the
concept of a Virtual Globe into the general public's consciousness,
our concept of how to view the planet we live on has permanently
changed. Similar to the way the internet changed the way we store,
access and sort information, Virtual Globes are reshaping our
perspective of how best to visualize geospatial data. One the key
components of this evolution has been emergence of Keyhole MarkUp
Language (KML) as the preferred code for adding and controlling
content in these technologies. Now recognized by the Open Geospatial
Consortium (OGC) as an international standard, KML is now increasingly
supported by a range of platforms, including Google Earth and Maps,
NASA World Wind, ESRI ArcGIS Explorer and Microsoft's Virtual Earth
and EarthBrowser.

The Virtual Globes at AGU session seeks to provide a forum for users
to exchange ideas, promote concepts and demonstrate innovations using
KML and/or globe and other geobrowser technologies. We also welcome
participation from the wider 3D visualization scientific user
community. Our intent is to bring together scientists, educators,
developers and any individuals interested in promoting the use of
these technologies for better scientific understanding, public
outreach and education about our real world.