Format Conversion Scripts

Utilities for converting planetary geospatial data between various formats including ISIS3, 3D mesh formats, and specialized projections.

Astropedia_gdal2ISIS3.py

Creates ISIS3-compatible cube files with detached labels from GDAL-supported images.

Usage

python Astropedia_gdal2ISIS3.py [options] input.tif output.cub

Parameters

input.tif

string

required

Input GDAL-supported georeferenced image

output.cub

string

required

Output ISIS3 cube filename

Options

-debug

flag

Print detailed image information during processing

-noimage

flag

Generate only the label file (.lbl) without creating the image cube

-attach

flag

Attach the label to the ISIS image using ISIS3 cubeatt (requires ISIS3 installation)

-force360

flag

Force longitude domain to 0-360 instead of -180 to 180

-centerLon

float

Override the center longitude value

-centerLon 180

-base

float

Set the pixel base value for DN conversion

-base 17374000

-multiplier

float

Set the pixel multiplier/scale value

-multiplier 0.5

Output Files

The script creates multiple output files:

output.cub - Raw image data in ENVI format
output.lbl - ISIS3 detached label with metadata
output.History.IsisCube - Processing history

Supported Projections

Simple Cylindrical (GEOGCS)
Equirectangular
Sinusoidal
Transverse Mercator
Orthographic
Mercator
Polar Stereographic (North/South)

Example

# Basic conversion
python Astropedia_gdal2ISIS3.py mars_mola.tif mars_mola.cub

# With 360 longitude domain
python Astropedia_gdal2ISIS3.py -force360 moon_dem.tif moon_dem.cub

# Set custom base and multiplier
python Astropedia_gdal2ISIS3.py -base 17374000 -multiplier 0.5 input.tif output.cub

Data Types Supported

Byte - 8-bit unsigned integer
Int16 - 16-bit signed integer
UInt16 - 16-bit unsigned integer
Float32 - 32-bit floating point
Float64 - Converted to Float32

Float32/Real types do not use base and multiplier in ISIS3. Use the ISIS fx command to apply offsets to floating-point data.

gdal2PLY.py

Converts digital elevation models (DEMs) to PLY mesh format for 3D visualization.

Usage

python gdal2PLY.py input_DEM.tif output_mesh.ply

Parameters

input_DEM.tif

string

required

Input DEM in any GDAL-supported format

output_mesh.ply

string

required

Output PLY mesh file (binary format)

Features

Creates binary PLY format for efficient storage
Generates triangulated mesh from DEM grid
Preserves X, Y, Z coordinates
Suitable for import into 3D visualization software

NoData Handling

The script does not currently handle NoData values. Use this workaround:

Find the minimum elevation:
```
gdalinfo -mm input_DEM.tif
```

Set NoData to a value below minimum and resample:

gdalwarp -dstnodata -2791 -tr 10 10 -r bilinear input_DEM.tif output_DEM_10m.tif

Run gdal2PLY on the processed file

Example

# Prepare DEM with NoData handling
gdalwarp -dstnodata -2791 -tr 10 10 -r bilinear raw_dem.tif dem_10m_nodata.tif

# Convert to PLY
python gdal2PLY.py dem_10m_nodata.tif terrain_mesh.ply

Output Format

PLY format includes:

Vertex positions (x, y, z)
Triangle face definitions
Binary encoding for efficiency

gdal2gores.py

Remaps Simple Cylindrical projected images into gore projections for printing and mounting on spheres.

Usage

python gdal2gores.py -ng number_of_gores infile outfile

Parameters

-ng

integer

required

Number of gores to generate (default: 8)

-ng 12  # Create 12 gores

infile

string

required

Input Simple Cylindrical map projection image

outfile

string

required

Output gore image (GeoTIFF format)

-q

flag

Quiet mode - suppress progress output

How It Works

Divides the input image into N vertical strips (gores)
Applies cosine warping to each gore based on latitude
Creates output suitable for cutting and mounting on spherical objects

Example

# Create 8 gores (default)
python gdal2gores.py -ng 8 mars_map.tif mars_gores.tif

# Create 12 gores for finer detail
python gdal2gores.py -ng 12 moon_map.tif moon_gores.tif

Use Cases

Creating physical globe models
Educational materials
Art and craft projects with planetary maps
Tennis ball or baseball sphere mapping

Input image must be in Simple Cylindrical projection. Use gdalwarp to reproject if necessary.

gdal2xyz_geocentricSpace.py

Converts elevation DEMs to geocentric (body-fixed) XYZ ASCII coordinates.

Usage

python gdal2xyz_geocentricSpace.py [options] srcfile [dstfile]

Parameters

srcfile

string

required

Input elevation DEM (elevation values in meters)

dstfile

string

Output ASCII file (defaults to stdout)

Options

-skip

integer

Sampling factor to skip pixels (default: 1)

-skip 10  # Sample every 10th pixel

-radius

float

Body radius in meters (default: 1737400.0 for Moon)

-radius 3396190  # Mars radius

-radiusBand

integer

Band number containing variable radius values

-radiusBand 2

-latBand

integer

Band number containing latitude values

-latBand 2

-lonBand

integer

Band number containing longitude values

-lonBand 3

-band

integer

Elevation band number (default: 1)

-band 1

-srcwin

xoff yoff width height

Process only a subset window

-srcwin 0 0 1000 1000

-addheader

flag

Add CSV header line to output

-printLatLon

flag

Output Lon,Lat,Elevation instead of X,Y,Z

Output Format

Default output (body-fixed coordinates):

X,Y,Z
1234567.890,2345678.901,3456789.012
...

With -printLatLon:

Lon,Lat,Elevation
-122.456,37.789,1234.56
...

Coordinate Calculation

For spherical bodies:

X = (radius + elevation) * cos(lat) * cos(lon)
Y = (radius + elevation) * cos(lat) * sin(lon)
Z = (radius + elevation) * sin(lat)

Example

# Moon DEM to XYZ with default radius
python gdal2xyz_geocentricSpace.py -addheader moon_dem.tif moon_xyz.csv

# Mars DEM with custom radius, every 10th pixel
python gdal2xyz_geocentricSpace.py -radius 3396190 -skip 10 mars_dem.tif mars_xyz.csv

# Use lat/lon from bands instead of projection
python gdal2xyz_geocentricSpace.py -latBand 2 -lonBand 3 multiband.tif output.csv

Default Radii

Moon: 1,737,400 m
Mars: 3,396,190 m (use -radius option)
Other bodies: specify with -radius

AsterMeta2Shapefile.py

Converts a directory of ASTER metadata (.meta) files into a polygon shapefile.

Usage

python AsterMeta2Shapefile.py outfile.shp

Parameters

outfile.shp

string

required

Output shapefile name

How It Works

Searches current directory for all *.meta files
Extracts corner coordinates from each metadata file
Creates polygon features with ASTER scene ID as attribute
Outputs WGS84 geographic coordinate system shapefile

Metadata File Format

Expects ASTER metadata files with format:

ID=AST_L1B_00301012000010829
ULLat=37.123456
ULLong=-122.123456
URLat=37.234567
URLong=-122.012345
LRLat=37.012345
LRLong=-122.234567
LLLat=37.123456
LLLong=-122.345678

Example

# Run in directory containing *.meta files
python AsterMeta2Shapefile.py aster_coverage.shp

Output:

complete. 150 files processed

Output Attributes

Name - ASTER scene identifier
Geometry - Polygon footprint

Use Cases

Creating ASTER scene coverage maps
Planning data acquisitions
Visualizing available data in GIS
Filtering scenes by location

Script will exit if output shapefile already exists. Remove existing file first.

ogr_footprintinit2shp (footprintinit2shp.py)

Converts ISIS3 caminfo geometry PVL files to ESRI Shapefiles with WKT geometry.

Usage

python footprintinit2shp.py input.pvl [projection.prj]

Parameters

input.pvl

string

required

Input PVL file from ISIS3 caminfo command

projection.prj

string

WKT projection file to define coordinate system

ISIS3 Workflow

To create a PVL file ready for this tool:

Initialize SPICE data

spiceinit from=input.cub

Generate footprint

footprintinit from=input.cub

Extract camera info

caminfo from=input.cub to=output.pvl uselabel=yes

Convert to shapefile

python footprintinit2shp.py output.pvl projection.prj

Output Files

Creates multiple files:

.shp - Shapefile geometry
.shx - Shapefile index
.dbf - Attribute database
.prj - Projection file (if input projection provided)
.csv - Intermediate CSV with WKT
.vrt - Virtual format file

Use Cases

Footprint cataloging - Create spatial index of image coverage
Mission planning - Visualize existing image coverage
Data discovery - Find images covering specific regions

Column names from PVL will be truncated to fit shapefile field name limits (10 characters).

ogr_isisminer2shp (isisminer2shp.py)

Converts ISIS3 isisminer CSV results to ESRI Shapefiles.

Usage

python isisminer2shp.py input.csv [projection.prj]

Parameters

input.csv

string

required

Input CSV file from isisminer command

projection.prj

string

WKT projection file for coordinate system definition

Requirements

Input CSV must contain geometry columns. Common isisminer geometry formats:

WKT (Well-Known Text) geometry column
Separate latitude/longitude columns
Footprint polygon coordinates

Use Cases

Analysis results visualization - Convert isisminer analysis to GIS format
Quality control - Spatially review data mining results
Integration - Combine with other GIS datasets

Requirements

Common Dependencies

All conversion scripts require:

Python 2.7+ or Python 3.x (script-dependent)
GDAL/OGR Python bindings

Additional Dependencies

gdal2PLY.py: NumPy
gdal2xyz_geocentricSpace.py: NumPy/Numeric
ogr_footprintinit2shp: pvl library
ogr_isisminer2shp: pvl library (if using WKT geometry)

Installation

# Install GDAL and NumPy
conda install -c conda-forge gdal numpy

# For PDS4 conversion (pvl library)
pip install pvl

Author

Developed by Trent Hare and contributors at USGS Astrogeology Science Center.

Getting Started

Core Utilities

Planetary Processing

Specialized Tools

Script Reference

​Format Conversion Scripts

​Astropedia_gdal2ISIS3.py

​Usage

​Parameters

​Options

​Output Files

​Supported Projections

​Example

​Data Types Supported

​gdal2PLY.py

​Usage

​Parameters

​Features

​NoData Handling

​Example

​Output Format

​gdal2gores.py

​Usage

​Parameters

​How It Works

​Example

​Use Cases

​gdal2xyz_geocentricSpace.py

​Usage

​Parameters

​Options

​Output Format

​Coordinate Calculation

​Example

​Default Radii

​AsterMeta2Shapefile.py

​Usage

​Parameters

​How It Works

​Metadata File Format

​Example

​Output Attributes

​Use Cases

​ogr_footprintinit2shp (footprintinit2shp.py)

​Usage

​Parameters

​ISIS3 Workflow

​Output Files

​Use Cases

​ogr_isisminer2shp (isisminer2shp.py)

​Usage

​Parameters

​Requirements

​Use Cases

​Requirements

​Common Dependencies

​Additional Dependencies

​Installation

​Author

Format Conversion Scripts

Astropedia_gdal2ISIS3.py

Usage

Parameters

Options

Output Files

Supported Projections

Example

Data Types Supported

gdal2PLY.py

Usage

Parameters

Features

NoData Handling

Example

Output Format

gdal2gores.py

Usage

Parameters

How It Works

Example

Use Cases

gdal2xyz_geocentricSpace.py

Usage

Parameters

Options

Output Format

Coordinate Calculation

Example

Default Radii

AsterMeta2Shapefile.py

Usage

Parameters

How It Works

Metadata File Format

Example

Output Attributes

Use Cases

ogr_footprintinit2shp (footprintinit2shp.py)

Usage

Parameters

ISIS3 Workflow

Output Files

Use Cases

ogr_isisminer2shp (isisminer2shp.py)

Usage

Parameters

Requirements

Use Cases

Requirements

Common Dependencies

Additional Dependencies

Installation

Author