5. CONCLUSIONS 
The availability of high quality satellite image data 
made it possible to develop a new map type, the 
Satellite Image Map. Effective methods have been 
developed to convert the original data to the form of 
image maps through digital image processing. These 
techniques offer great flexibility and ensure that the 
image data can be visualized in an optimal form. This 
is why Satellite Image Maps become more and more 
accepted and the production rates raised rapidly within 
the last years (Galtier et al., 1992; Rivereau et al., 1992). 
Because of the limited resolution of the image data the 
production of Satellite Image Maps is restricted to 
certain scales. It has already been stated by Colvocores- 
ses (1986) and it was proven by many experiments that 
a size of 0.3 mm of the original pixel in the final map 
is adequate to achieve suitable image map quality. This 
criterion limits the use of a particular sensor to the 
scales listed in Table 1. 
  
  
Sensor Resolution Scale 
LANDSAT-MSS 80m 1: 250.000 
LANDSAT-TM 30m 1:100.000 
SPOT (multispectral) 20m 1:100.000 
SPOT (panchromatic) 10m 1:50.000 
MOMS-02 5m 1:25.000 
  
  
  
Table 1: Appropriate scales for the production of 
Satellite Image Maps 
However, the cartographical design of Satellite Image 
Maps is still under development. This especially ap- 
plies to the integration of graphical elements (e.g. 
lines, letters, cartographic symbols) and image data. 
The traditional experience of cartography, which deals 
with the combination of graphical elements, is not 
appropriate for this actual problem. On the other 
hand, digital image processing in combination with 
computer-assisted cartography offers great flexibility 
for studies and experiments in order to find adequate 
solutions. A series of practical studies on this task 
yielded encouraging results. But the optimization of 
the related factors will be subject to further investi- 
gations. 
It is evident, that the production of Satellite Image 
Maps is only part of a comprehensive development. 
Satellite image data, mosaicked and prepared for the 
production of Satellite Image Maps, are also an ideal 
date base for many thematic mapping purposes. 
Future development will be highly influenced by the 
availability of Geo-Information Systems, and satellite 
image data will be more and more introduced into 
GIS. Thus it can be anticipated, that the production of 
Satellite Image Maps will become a subsystem within 
an integrated GIS. 
Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the methods 
developed for mapping the Earth's surface are also of 
great benefit for planetary remote sensing. The camera 
experiments of the Russian mission 'Mars 94' are de- 
signed to acquire image data not only for interpre- 
314 
tation but also for mapping purposes, in particular for 
the production of image maps (Albertz et al., 1992) 
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
The experiments described were sponsored by the 
German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungs- 
gemeinschaft) within the framework of the Special 
Research Project 69 »Geoscientific Problems in Arid 
Areas« and by the Federal Ministry for Research and 
Development (BMFT).