Cartographic and geodetic methods to characterize the potential landing sites for the future Russian missions Luna-Glob and Luna-Resurs

• Published in: Solar system research Vol. 49; no. 2; pp. 92 - 109
• Main Authors: Karachevtseva, I. P., Kokhanov, A. A., Konopikhin, A. A., Nadezhdina, I. E., Zubarev, A. E., Patratiy, V. D., Kozlova, N. A., Uchaev, D. V., Uchaev, Dm. V., Malinnikov, V. A., Oberst, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.04.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Astronomy; Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Astrophysics and Cosmology; Cartography; Extraterrestrial environments; Geodesy; Geodetics; Laboratories; Landing sites; Lunar spacecraft; Missions; Observations and Techniques; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Planetology; Spacecraft; Russia, Moscow; image data processing; GIS; planetary cartography; automated crater detection; remote sensing of the Moon; 3D-modeling; DTM
• ISSN: 0038-0946; 1608-3423
• DOI: 10.1134/S0038094615020021

Characterization of the potential landing sites for the planned Luna-Glob and Luna-Resurs Russian missions requires cartographic and geodetic support prepared with special methods and techniques that are briefly overviewed here. The data used in the analysis, including the digital terrain models (DTMs) and the orthoimages acquired in the survey carried out from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Kaguya spacecraft, are described and evaluated. By way of illustration, different regions of the lunar surface, including the subpolar regions of the Moon, are characterized with the suggested methods and the GIS-technologies. The development of the information support for the future lunar missions started in 2011, and it is now carried on in MIIGAiK Extraterrestrial Laboratory (MExLab), which is a department of the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK).