Skip to content
SIWOMSPACE

Data & methodology

Transparent data, from archive to screen.

Which planetary products we use, who publishes them, under what licence, how we processed them, and what they cannot tell you.

Never shown as integrated unless it is

A dataset appears as integrated only if this site serves and uses a file derived from it. A test enforces this.

Official sources first

Downloads and supported services from USGS, NASA PDS nodes and instrument teams. No scraping of restricted systems, no embedded API keys.

Provenance with every value

Product, producer, licence, resolution and every processing step are recorded next to the data.

Limits stated up front

Each dataset lists what it cannot resolve or tell you, in the same place as what it can.

01 / Catalogue

Integrated on this website

This website serves processed copies of these products and uses them. Each file is produced by scripts/build-assets.mjs.

Integrated hereMars

Mars 2020 Terrain Relative Navigation CTX DTM mosaic

USGS Astrogeology Science Center for NASA/JPL (MRO Context Camera stereo)

Source
astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/mars_2020_terrain_relative_navigation_ctx_dtm_mosaic (opens in a new tab) · doi:10.5066/P906QQT8 (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Jezero Crater region; this site uses 77.16–77.70°E, 18.21–18.72°N
Resolution
20 m posts (source); 100 m block means on this site. Metres above the MOLA areoid.
Licence
CC0 1.0 (USGS data release)
Used for
Terrain Lab: elevation, slope, hazard layers and routes.
Processing
  • Resampled by the MOMAR pipeline to a 1596 × 1512 geographic grid of 20 m posts.
  • Area-averaged in 5 × 5 blocks to 319 × 302 posts (~100 m) and quantized to 0.1 m (scripts/build-assets.mjs).
  • Slope (Horn 1981), hillshade, hazard mask and routes computed in the browser.
Limitations
  • 100 m posts average out boulders, small scarps and ripples; slopes are underestimated relative to the 20 m source.
  • Vertical accuracy is that of the source DTM, controlled to MOLA.
Integrated hereMars

Mars 2020 Terrain Relative Navigation CTX orthoimage mosaic

USGS Astrogeology Science Center (MRO Context Camera)

Source
www.usgs.gov/data/mars-2020-terrain-relative-navigation-context-camera-orthorectified-image-mosaic (opens in a new tab) · doi:10.5066/P9GV1ND3 (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Same extent as the terrain grid
Resolution
6 m/pixel (source); about 19 m/pixel on this site
Licence
CC0 1.0 (USGS data release)
Used for
Terrain Lab surface and hazard layers.
Processing
  • Linear contrast stretch (0.5–99.5 percentile) in the MOMAR pipeline.
  • Cropped to the terrain grid and resized to 1600 px wide WebP.
Limitations
  • Greyscale; brightness reflects albedo and illumination, not composition. Seams between CTX frames are possible.
Integrated hereMars

Perseverance rover traverse

NASA/JPL-Caltech Mars 2020 team (MMGIS location feed)

Source
science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/location-map/ (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Sols 14–1980 inside the terrain grid (feed retrieved September 2026)
Resolution
Rover localization (metre scale); simplified to a 4 m tolerance
Licence
NASA public data
Used for
Terrain Lab context overlay.
Processing
  • Joined drive segments in sol order, clipped to the grid and simplified (Douglas–Peucker, 4 m).
Limitations
  • Operational localization; positions may later be refined in the PDS archive.
Integrated hereMars

Viking MDIM 2.1 colour mosaic (global)

USGS Astrogeology Science Center (NASA Viking Orbiter data)

Source
astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/mars_viking_global_color_mosaic_925m (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Global
Resolution
925 m/pixel (source); 4096 × 2048 (~5.2 km/pixel) and smaller on this site
Licence
Public domain (USGS/NASA)
Used for
Rotating Mars globes (home page).
Processing
  • Area-averaged to 8192 × 4096 in the MOMAR pipeline, then resized to 4k, 2k and 1k WebP.
Limitations
  • Colourised mosaic: approximate colour, not calibrated true colour.
Integrated hereMars

MGS MOLA global DEM

USGS Astrogeology / MOLA Science Team (NASA GSFC)

Source
astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/mars_mgs_mola_dem_463m (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Global
Resolution
463 m/pixel (source); gradients at ~10 km/pixel on this site
Licence
Public domain (USGS/NASA)
Used for
Relief shading on the Mars globes.
Processing
  • East and north gradients from block means (MOMAR pipeline).
  • Converted to a tangent-space normal map with relief exaggerated ×6 for legibility.
Limitations
  • Shading only. Relief is exaggerated and not used for any measurement on this site.
Integrated hereMars

Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

IAU WGPSN / USGS Astrogeology

Source
planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/ (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Named features (centre points)
Resolution
Point features
Licence
Public domain (USGS)
Used for
Globe markers and Terrain Lab place labels.
Processing
  • Feature centres copied with their gazetteer links.
Limitations
  • Only IAU-approved names; informal mission names are excluded (the landing-site name comes from NASA).
Integrated hereMoon

CGI Moon Kit (LRO LROC WAC colour mosaic, LOLA elevation)

NASA Scientific Visualization Studio (data: LRO LROC WAC, ASU; LRO LOLA, NASA GSFC)

Source
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4720 (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Global
Resolution
2k colour map and 1k 8-bit elevation map (display products)
Licence
NASA media: see NASA Images and Media Usage Guidelines
Used for
Rotating lunar globe (visual context only).
Processing
  • Colour resized to 2k and 1k WebP; 8-bit elevation converted to a relative-relief normal map.
Limitations
  • Display products for visualization. Not used for any lunar measurement.

02 / Catalogue

Integrated in MOMAR

Used by the MOMAR prototype, a separate application. Listed for completeness; this website does not use them.

Integrated in MOMARMars

Mars 2020 TRN HiRISE DTM mosaic (sampled)

USGS Astrogeology Science Center (MRO HiRISE)

Source
www.usgs.gov/data/mars-2020-terrain-relative-navigation-hirise-dtm-mosaic (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Central Jezero (about 31% of MOMAR's grid cells)
Resolution
1 m/pixel source, sampled along transects
Licence
Public domain (USGS data release)
Used for
MOMAR risk grid and fine-slope layer.
Processing
  • Fine-slope and roughness statistics along one 2 m-baseline transect per 20 m cell.
Limitations
  • Sampled, not full coverage.
Integrated in MOMARMars

CRISM MTRDR spectral summary parameters

CRISM Science Team (JHU/APL), PDS Geosciences Node

Source
pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/mro/crism.htm (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Eight targeted observations in Jezero (2007–2011)
Resolution
~18 m (FRT) and ~36 m (HRL)
Licence
Public domain (NASA PDS)
Used for
MOMAR science stops.
Processing
  • Eight parameter bands read by range requests and gridded.
Limitations
  • Absorption indicators consistent with mineral classes, not identifications.

03 / Catalogue

Under evaluation

Candidate sources for lunar work. Nothing here is integrated anywhere yet; access, licence, coverage, resolution and coordinate systems are being checked first.

Under evaluationMoon

LRO LOLA gridded elevation products

NASA GSFC LOLA team, PDS Geosciences Node

Source
pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/lro/lola.htm (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Global and polar products
Resolution
Varies by product; to be confirmed per product before use
Licence
NASA PDS public data (to be confirmed per product)
Used for
Planned: lunar elevation and slope for the CLPS Lunar Mission Browser.
Processing
  • None yet.
Limitations
  • Under evaluation: product choice, coordinate system and polar coverage to be verified.
Under evaluationMoon

LRO Camera (LROC) WAC and NAC products

LROC Science Operations Center (Arizona State University), PDS Imaging

Source
pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/volumes/lro.html (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Global (WAC) and targeted high-resolution (NAC)
Resolution
Varies by product; to be confirmed
Licence
NASA PDS public data (to be confirmed per product)
Used for
Planned: lunar surface imagery.
Processing
  • None yet.
Limitations
  • Under evaluation: mosaic choice, access method and attribution to be verified.
Under evaluationMoon

NASA Moon Trek map layers

NASA Solar System Treks (JPL)

Source
trek.nasa.gov/moon/ (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Global and site-specific layers
Resolution
Varies by layer
Licence
Per layer; to be confirmed
Used for
Planned: streamed lunar context layers.
Processing
  • None yet.
Limitations
  • Under evaluation: service terms, rate limits and caching to be verified before streaming any layer.
Under evaluationMoon

NASA Planetary Data System archives

NASA PDS

Source
pds.nasa.gov/ (opens in a new tab)
Coverage
Mission archives for the Moon and Mars
Resolution
Per product
Licence
NASA public data
Used for
Source discovery for lunar products.
Processing
  • None yet.
Limitations
  • Entry point for locating authoritative products; each product is assessed individually.

04 / Methodology

Conventions and methods

Coordinates

Mars positions use planetocentric latitude and east longitude (0–360° E) on the Mars 2000 sphere of radius 3,396,190 m used by the source products. Elevations are metres above the MOLA areoid. Exported GeoJSON states this explicitly; it is not WGS 84.

Resampling

Grids are reduced by area averaging, never by picking single samples, so the value of a coarse cell is the mean of the fine cells it covers. The cost is that local extremes — and steep slopes — are smoothed; we state the resulting resolution wherever a value appears.

Slope and hazards

Slope by Horn's 3 × 3 method with latitude-correct cell widths. Hazard masks are thresholds on slope that the user chooses. We do not infer rocks, soil strength or lighting from elevation alone.

Routes

A* search on the grid with two explicit cost models. Results are optimal for their model on that grid; they are algorithmic estimates, not assessments of safety.

Reproducing this site's data

Run node scripts/build-assets.mjs --momar <path to MOMAR>. The script reads MOMAR's processed products and writes every served data file, recording the processing in terrain.json.

05 / Licences

Attribution

USGS data releases used here are public domain or CC0. NASA data and imagery are generally not subject to copyright in the United States; we follow the NASA Images and Media Usage Guidelines (opens in a new tab) and credit the producing teams on each dataset above.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS and USGS Astrogeology (CTX DTM and orthoimage); NASA/JPL-Caltech (Perseverance traverse); USGS Astrogeology and NASA (Viking MDIM 2.1, MOLA); IAU WGPSN and USGS (planetary nomenclature); NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, LROC (Arizona State University) and LOLA (NASA GSFC) for the lunar textures.

SIWOM Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA, USGS, ASU, the IAU or any other organisation credited here.