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Published online 14 May 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.821
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Spot the spacecraft
Scientists hope the public can help find the Mars Polar Lander's resting place in released images.
Back in 1999, the Mars Polar Lander (MPL) went missing as it entered Mars’s atmosphere, and its fate has been a mystery ever since. But now there is a chance for a member of the public to locate the missing spacecraft and help work out what went wrong.
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Summary: Look for where it isn't, not for where it is. Small sections of terrain will be overall boring - flat coloration and detail. A resolvable crash site is a pip in optical density and edges vs. its surroundings. Chop the graphics into cells, FT optical density and edge frequencies, and compare to surrounding cells. Natural terrain breaks will register positive. Perhaps 80% of the area will simply drop out. Engage eyeballs for the remainder. The same tactic auto-detects pornographic images. Skin is mostly flat monocolor.