I just mapped the Mun - in 3D - topography style!

[Corax]

PakledHostage: Your idea of terrain elevation is more suited for mapping (no disrespect to Corax). The crxTelemetry records the altitude of the telemetry part - not the altitude of the terrain. This is obviously as designed and it does this well. What you\'re doing is far more fit-for-purpose. If you\'d like me to play test to see if I can get a different result then I\'m happy to do so. Raw data files and 3rd party programs for mapping do not scare me. As you can see in the OP I\'ve used the same technique myself.

The data field for AGL is only in the most recent version of the plugin. With that, the actual position of the module doesn\'t matter, as you can simply subtract AGL from ASL and get true terrain elevation.

But I concur, the main purpose of the telemetry plugin is not cartography, there is already one publicly available specialized module I know of, and who knows how many private ones

It might be worth further developing them.

[PakledHostage]

Well, the Kerbal equivalent of the Canadian Space Agency (we\'ve got lots of ambition but only limited funding) has managed to beg/borrow/steal some processing time on a faster computer over the past couple of weeks, and I\'m proud to announce the successful completion of the Mercator I mission to map the Mun.

I designed a custom terrain elevation measurement radar and loaded it into a Silisko Industries\' Probodobodyne Sensor Pack, then assembled the Mercator I probe using more Probodobodyne parts.

I then flew the Mercator I probe on a mission to collect terrain elevation data from three different orbital inclinations (60°, 75° and 90°) over the course of about 5 days in orbit (about 10 days real-time). During that time, I developed an application to process and map the data:

Link to full size map image

The map above was generated by interpolating the raw data shown below:

I\'m confident that the interpolation algorithm yields reasonably accurate results. During development of the mapping application, I tested my interpolation algorithm by interpolating the pixels in the middle image below to generate the image on the right. (Note that I interpolated altitudes rather than colours to generate the map.) The image on the left is the reference image. The closer the image on the right matches the image on the left, the better the interpolation algorithm is working:

There is still some room for improvement in the interpolation algorithm and there are also still some voids in the raw data. I plan to fly another mission to fill in more of the data voids and I am experimenting with better interpolation methods as well. While I\'m at it, I will also revise the mapping application to generate a few other map projections. In its current incarnation, the mapping software generates an equidistant cylindrical projection map, but there are other projections that are more appropriate for different regions of the Mun\'s surface (like a polar stereographic projection for the poles).

In recognition of this mission, I would like to propose to the Kerbal Geographic Society that the Munar highlands located near 70° 06\'N, 52° 18\'E be named the 'Mercator Highlands'. The Mercator I probe detected peaks as high as 3315 m in that region.

PH.

Edit: Corrected a typo.

[TheCardinal]

* is dumbstruck with amazement *