NASA Galileo Europa Digital Terrain Models for Five Surface Sites

Five stereo-derived digital terrain models (DTMs) of Jupiter's moon Europa, created from over 700 images captured by the Galileo spacecraft's Solid State Imager. The DTMs cover sites including Agenor Linea, Cilix crater, Pwyll crater, pits near Rhadamanthys Linea, and plains near Yelland Linea. They were generated using BAE's SOCET SET software and tied to a horizontal datum using updated USGS image pointing information.

Use Cases

• Analyze surface geology and morphology based on the provided elevation data for five distinct sites.
• Enable mission planning and operations for potential landers based on the high-quality terrain models.
• Conduct stereophotogrammetry research and validation based on the Galileo image data and DTM generation process.
• Study specific features like bright bands, craters, pits, chaos terrain, and ridged plains mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Derived from more than 700 Galileo spacecraft images, providing a substantial observational base.
• Manually edited to correct identifiable errors from the automated stereo matching process.
• Tied to an existing horizontal datum using updated USGS pointing information, enhancing interoperability.
• Described as the highest quality achievable with the available Galileo data.

Limitations

• Horizontal resolution is typically 1–2 km, which is about 10 times the image pixel scale.
• Expected vertical precision (RMS uncertainty) ranges from tens to hundreds of meters.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

NASA / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Collection Method

Created via stereophotogrammetry from Galileo SSI images using BAE SOCET SET software.

Time Range

Data acquired during the Galileo mission to Jupiter (1989-2003).

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Five specific sites on Jupiter's moon Europa.