Researchers have managed to develop a technique to significantly improve the image quality of images taken from the Mars Orbiter.
Researchers from the University College London have developed a new imaging technique that could let us click insanely clear satellite pictures in our planet’s vicinity.
The technology, called Super-Resolution Restoration (SRR), essentially boosts the effective image quality of a picture taken via satellite. What it does is takes three pictures of the exact same spot clicked by a satellite, stacks them one over the other and then matches for discrepancies. This allows the tool to effectively “clean up” and enhance the original image. Think of all those episodes of CSI, where the detectives said “zoom and enhance” and just like that had a crystal clear picture of someone’s face, from grainy security camera footage. While there were a few liberties taken with how that method worked, Super-Resolution Restoration actually works something like that.
The best part is that the team has already successfully tested the technique on images taken from NASA’s HiRISE cameras aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. To put that into context, with the Mars Orbiter between 200 to 400km away from the Red Planet, HiRise already let NASA resolve images of objects around 1 metre wide, at about 30-60cm a pixel. The addition of SRR improves that significantly, letting the space agency observe details as small as 5cm across. And again, that’s not from a lander, that’s from a satellite in orbit!
But don’t just believe us, you can see the comparison for yourself. On the left are the original HiRISE images, and on the right are the SRR enhanced images. And if you’d like to read up some more, the entire method has been recorded in the scientific journal Planetary and Space Science.
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