Render surface topology using NASAView

[Thangalin]

Given:

• http://pds.nasa.gov/tools/nasa-view.shtml
• http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/volumes/magellan.html

How would you reconstruct a surface flyby of Venus?

• http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA00107_modest.jpg

Here is what I thought:

• Create a bump map using one of the JPEG images:

• http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/data/mgn-v-rdrs-5-midr-full-res-v1.0/mg_0018/extras/browse/f55s014/browse.img.jpeg

• Create a heavily-divided plane in Blender.

• Apply the JPEG as a normal map to the plane.

• Simulate colours based on images returned from Soviet Venera 13 and 14.

Has anyone attempted such a task? Is there a better way to go about it?

I looked at using DEM data, then converting DEM to PPM/PNG, or converting DEM straight to OBJ, however that road looked riddled with problematic potholes.

Thank you!

[Thangalin]

Using NASA’s Map-a-Planet and Blender 2.4x, it is possible to create a mesh of a planet’s surface, which can be imported into Blender 2.5x.

Some questions:

• How would you add more detail to the mesh?
• Can the process be simplified to just use Blender 2.5x?
• How would you scale the heightmap to be as accurate as possible?

The goal is to produce a fairly detailed, photo-realistic map of the surface of some planets and moons.

Any tips, tricks, suggestions, and blend files would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!