3/27/00 -- Unique Mars Images Online
Thanks to a team in the NAS data analysis group, an extensive online archive of high-resolution images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) is now available on the Mars Surveyor Landing Sites, hosted by the NAS Systems Division. The images are unique in that each is accompanied by "context images" showing the MOC image in the context of its broader region.

The NAS team translated and each image from its native PDS (Planetary Data System) format for browser-friendly JPEGs for viewing, and developed java-based online image processing functions for custom processing. With resolutions ranging from about 2 to 15 meters per pixel, Mars mission planners and planetary researchers can view sharp details in images of shadowed crater rims and other formations. For more information, contact Glenn Deardorff in the NAS data analysis group at deardorf@nas.nasa.gov, 650 604-3169.

3/27/00 -- Chimera Grid Tools Updated
A new version of of the Chimera Grid Tools (CGT), a set of programs and scripts for generating overset grids, has just been released. CGT is widely used for solving complex computational fluid dynamics (CFD) problems in a variety of real-world applications, including launch and re-entry vehicles, rotorcraft, ships, submarines, and sailboats. The package includes a graphical user interface called OVERGRID to generate grid systems.

Developed at NASA's Ames Research Center, CGT 1.2 includes: a port to the LINUX operating system; enhancements for generating grids using triangulated surfaces; and OVERGRID 1.4, with many new features Read more about Chimera Grid Tools 1.2, or contact CGT co-developer Stuart Rogers in the NAS Systems Division at rogers@nas.nasa.gov, 650-604-4481.