LUNAR AND PLANETARY PHOTOGRAMMETRY 
R. M. Batson 
U.S. Geological Survey 
Within appropriate levels of resources and technology, the NASA 
program for the exploration of the Moon and planets seeks a balance 
between the expansion of knowledge by the inclusion of new targets 
and the refinement of knowledge obtained on previously investigated 
targets. Generally, the sequence of exploration progresses from 
Earth-based observations, to flyby missions, then to orbiting space- 
craft and eventually to landers. The composition, structure and 
dynamics of planetary atmospheres are investigated by probes; surface 
configuration and composition are recorded by imagery and other 
orbital sensors; detailed geology, chemistry, and where appropriate, 
biology, are studied by landers. 
Photogrammetry is used with any available spacecraft imaging 
system to support other scientific investigations. Most mission 
profiles and hardware are designed through compromise between a wide 
variety of scientific disciplines, and usually do not provide optimum 
data for photogrammetry. Between January of 1972 and January of 1976, 
however, extensive areas of the Moon, Mars, its moons Phobos and 
Diemos, and the planet Mercury have been mapped or measured with 
spacecraft image data. Experimental maps of Venus are being made 
from Earth-based radar images. 
Apollo 17, the last of the lunar exploration spacecraft, returned 
to Earth on December 17, 1972. Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17 carried 
the first, and so far the only, truly photogrammetric camera system 
which NASA has flown (Doyle 1970). A metric camera of 76 mm focal 
length, supported by a stellar attitude camera and a laser altimeter, 
provided mapping photography for all illuminated areas overflown by 
the spacecraft. A panoramic camera of 610 mm focal length provided 
photography of 2-3m resolution for detailed analysis of the lunar 
surface. The mapping photography from each of the three missions 
was triangulated separately by the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace 
Center (Cannell and Ross, 1975). A simultaneous solution of 1244 
frames from all three missions was performed by a team from National 
Ocean Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey (Lucas 1975). Based 
upon these control networks, a series of contoured orthophotomaps 
at 1:250,000 scale is being prepared by the Defense Mapping Agency 
Topographic Center. Detailed maps at scales as large as 1:25,000 
are being produced from the panoramic photographs for areas of par- 
ticular scientific interest (Lunar Science Institute 1975). 
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