Co-registration of Chang’e-1 Stereo Images and Laser Altimeter Data for 3d Mapping of Lunar Surface

This paper presents a method for co-registration of Chang’E-1 lunar orbiter stereo images and laser altimeter (LAM) data for 3D mapping of lunar surface. First, a digital elevation model (DEM) is automatically generated from the three-line CCD stereo images based on rigorous pushbroom sensor model and multi-level image matching. The DEM is then registered to LAM data through surface matching with a 3D rigid transformation model. Consequently, the exterior orientation parameters of the images are adjusted using the rigid transformation model so that the images and LAM data are co-registered. The experimental results demonstrate that the inconsistency between the CCD images and the LAM data is significantly reduced by this co-registration. * Corresponding author.