Many photographers make use of a robotic platform and software algorithm first created to enable high definition photography on Mars. Panoramic shots using the NASA technology capture gigapixel-sized images. They are so large that users can navigate them and zoom in to see small details such as the clothes worn by an individual in a crowd of tens of thousands of people.
For a decade and a half, successive generations of Mars rovers have been stunning the world with high-resolution imagery. Though equipped with only one-megapixel cameras, the Spirit and Opportunity rovers have a robotic platform and software that allows them to combine dozens of shots into a single photograph. The researchers who developed the platform partnered with industry to share the technology, resulting in the Gigapan photography platform widely used on Earth to create super high-resolution panoramas of public events, professional sports games, concerts and more.
Learn more about how NASA helped develop technology that impacts panoramic photography within your city's sports environment!