DataTake 14.190

This two images show the comparison between the 1 bit processing and the conventional processing (4 bits).

On the right: 1 bit processing
On the left: Conventional processing (4 bits).

The 1 bit image has a lower quality with respect to the 4 bits processing. The advantage of the 1 bit processing consists in the fact that the images (MRI) this one come from have processed in real time. In fact, the 1 bit processed images (MRI) are obtained in real time while the conventional 4 bits MRI images are obtained in a much greater time period (almost two orders of magnitude).

These images were acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour launched on February 11,2000. SRTM uses the same radar instrument that comprises the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. The mission is designated to collect three dimensional measurements of nearly 80 percent of the earth surface. To collect the 3-D data , engineers added a 60 meter long (200 feet) mast, an additional C-band antenna and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the German and Italian Space Agencies. It is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, DC.