Research on Realistic 3D Modeling Technology of Lava Tube for Future Lunar Scientific Expedition

Abstract

This article proposed a 3D real scene modeling method for lava tubes that integrates airborne LiDAR, close-range photogrammetry, and point cloud data from GeoSLAM handheld laser scanner, with a focus on future lunar surface scientific explorations. Firstly, the entities were divided, and then entity feature extraction was performed based on semantic information. A new mesh model construction method was proposed, which uses multi-level model construction method and skeleton-plus-detail modeling method to construct the mesh model of the inner surface of the lava tube. Finally, entities were constructed separately between different layers inside the model to simulate the original state of different layers, and to measure layer thickness and volume of spallation. The 3D modeling of the lava tube located in Jingpo Lake, Heilongjiang province, shows that the 3D modeling method for lava tubes based on multi-source data fusion has high precision and high realism, providing an important reference for subsequent lunar lava tube skylight detection, Earth-Moon simulation comparison and internal exploration.

Keywords

3D reconstruction / airborne LiDAR / proximity photogrammetry / lava tube / GeoSLAM scanner