The science community and the broader public as a whole are encouraged to participate in HiRISE targeting and data analysis. This will be made possible by several key innovations:
- User-friendly image targeting via HiWeb (based on the successful Marsoweb site,
http://marsoweb.nas.nas.gov,
used for Mars Explorer Rover 2003 mission landing site selection studies).
- A web-based clickable, zoomable image data map will allow seamless access to all HiRISE,
other MRO, and previous Mars mission data including image, topographic, spectral, and derived datasets. The interface will allow easy intercomparison of data sets via transparent overlays on the image data map. A key feature will be rubber-band selection of image targets and a simple justification interface. Similar versions of the interface will be maintained for team members, the science community, and the public at large.
- Anyone may submit suggested image targets, give short justification and list of constraints (e.g. season, signal-to-noise ratio, resolution, etc.). Suggestions will be routed to appropriate HiRISE Co-Investigators and prioritized for targeting by HiRISE. NASA Quest and other partners will host web events and workshops to provide support to students and educators in the image suggestion process, in learning more about Mars and to encourage high quality suggestions.
- Online analysis and visualization web tools will allow easy analysis of data (e.g. on-the-fly 3D perspective views of any location on Mars incorporating user-selected data sets, and online image processing and profiling tools).
- Public participation in science data generation via Clickworkers
(http://clickworkers.arc.nasa.gov).
- Public interest in data analysis demonstrated by 80,000 individual users who collectively identified essentially every impact crater on Mars. Excellent fidelity of results was demonstrated by comparison to the Barlow crater catalog.
- Users will generate a variety of geologic feature databases and may participate in image validation for the HiRISE team.