How to create a 3D model of the surface of Mars using photogrammetry software and NASA Curiosity Rover navcam data

Let’s go to Mars! This video shows how I used Photoscan to generate a 3D model from stereoscopic images taken on Mars by the NASA Curiosity Rover.  I was able to generate this model by using a process known as photogrammetry and one of the three pairs of stereo images taken during Sol 1000.

You can download the same data by selecting left and right navcams on this JPL website. In the future I’d like to make an interface that allows me to simply pick from days on which Curiosity recorded stereo imagery, I plan to use this new NASA Mars Photo API to accomplish that request from the JPL servers.

Dennis "Fox" Bonilla has been a user experience designer, software developer, and digital strategist collaborating with some of the most successful and high-tech organizations in the world. Fox is a co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer at Baltu Technologies where he is helping create next generation workforce development tools. Fox started Unified Pop Theory with his friends in attempt to bookmark and comment on novel intersections of technology, science, and the arts. Fox is a trend finder and idea maker who is inspired by individuals that believe the world can be changed one great project at a time. Fox can be reached on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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