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The surface of Mars – including the location of the Beagle-2 probe – was revealed in unprecedented detail when UCL scientists used a revolutionary method of surface exploration.
The team made headlines after they released pictures using the technique Super-Resolution Restoration (SRR) to focus on specific objects on Mars. These included the Beagle-2, the British spacecraft that vanished for 12 years after landing on Mars; the ancient lakebeds discovered by NASA’s Curiosity rover; NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover-A rover tracks; and rocks on the plateau Home Plate.
Objects on Mars are seen at a resolution up to five times greater than previously achieved.
Flickr gallery of images:
The detail that can be seen by even the largest telescopes is limited, but by stacking and matching pictures of the same area taken from different angles, Super-Resolution Restoration (SRR) allows objects as small as 5cm to be seen from the same 25cm telescope.
They are now able to explore vastly more terrain than is possible with a single rover.
Co-author Professor Jan-Peter Muller from the UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory, said: “We now have the equivalent of drone-eye vision anywhere on the surface of Mars where there are enough clear repeat pictures.”
" As more pictures are collected, we will see increasing evidence of the kind we have only seen from the three successful rover missions to date. This will be a game-changer and the start of a new era in planetary exploration.” Professor Jan-Peter Muller, UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory.
- Flickr gallery of images
- UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory
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