Clearing the Fog. Early Image Processing and the Lunar Surveyor Imaging System (1966‑68)
Over the course of the 1960s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) used some of its substantial resources to develop novel computer-based techniques for improving and enhancing its astronomical images. This article illuminates that early chapter in the history of the algorithmic...
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| Dans: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/transbordeur, |
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| Auteur principal: | |
| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Langue: | Anglais |
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Transbordeur
2025
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| Sujets: | |
| Accès en ligne: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Résumé: | Over the course of the 1960s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) used some of its substantial resources to develop novel computer-based techniques for improving and enhancing its astronomical images. This article illuminates that early chapter in the history of the algorithmic image by describing the circumstances of the technology’s integration into the imaging system of one NASA program in particular: the Surveyor mission (1966–68). Surveyor used a television camera to capture images of the lunar surface, then telemetered those images back to Earth. There, the images were circulated using a diverse range of technologies that included magnetic tape, various film formats, and a combination of manual and computer-based processing techniques. The analysis shows how, as they were introduced into this already complex and diverse imaging system, these novel image-processing techniques operated as a sort of extended darkroom, essentially duplicating and augmenting an existing logic of information extraction and processing. |
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