Box Soto

A new study has enlisted the help of algorithms to automate parts of a method used to reconstruct terrain data from 2D maps of the lunar surface. These algorithms, as it turns out, can drastically speed up the creation of moon maps that include details as small as individual boulders. Those maps may be what future Artemis missions use for mission planning. The technique, called shape-from-shading, allows selenographers (moon-mappers) to estimate the moon's terrain based on shadows decorating its face. Unfortunately, shape-from-shading done by hand is tedious and labor-intensive; one of the largest challenges is that the technique relies on matching features, like craters and ridges, between images. Thus far, computers have been unable to automate the process.