MIMS—A relational database of imagery on Mars

Abstract

Mars Image Mining System (MIMS) is a relational database of internet links to most of the images which were acquired by missions Mariner 9, Viking 1 and 2, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey and Mars Express (a total of 329,240 images on December 15, 2005). Unlike existing online databases, it allows to search for images of several missions simultaneously, based on criteria such as image resolution, location and nearest feature name. Also, MIMS allows searching for images acquired on the same location by different missions, thus enabling the user to evaluate the evolution in time (from 1971 to 2005) of external geodynamic phenomena and features such as dust coverage, dune fields, the formation of gullies or cratering.