Camera Orientation of Mars Express Using DTM Information

In January 2004 the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the ESA mission Mars Express started imaging the surface of planet Mars in colour and stereoscopically in high resolution. The Institute of Photogrammetry and GeoInformation (IPI) of the University of Hannover and the Chair for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (LPF) of the Technische Universität München are jointly processing the data of the HRSC: Using automatically extracted tie points and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data, the exterior orientation of the Mars Express spacecraft is being calculated perpetually in a combined photogrammetric bundle adjustment during the two years lasting mission. This paper describes the used approaches for tie point matching and bundle adjustment. On the basis of two selected orbits the results of the matching and the achieved accuracy of the bundle adjustment are presented and evaluated.