request_planetary_altimetry

Submit a LOLA (Moon) or MOLA (Mars) altimetry data request for a planetary DEM. This tool auto-detects the planetary body from the DEM’s CRS and submits an asynchronous query to the ODE Granular Data System (GDS) REST API.

What the request feeds: the “LOLA Altimetry Map” page of the LRO NAC example report — LOLA shots over the DEM hillshade, colored by LOLA minus DEM, with the point count, median, and NMAD — followed by a histogram, and both again after pc_align. The Mars MOC reports show the MOLA equivalent, with and without mapprojection.

Workflow

Planetary altimetry data requires an asynchronous request/download workflow because the ODE GDS API processes queries in a queue:

1. Submit request — run request_planetary_altimetry with your DEM and email

2. Wait for email — you will receive a download link (may take minutes to hours)

3. Download and unzip — extract the *_topo_csv.csv file from the zip

4. Generate report — pass the CSV to asp_report via --altimetry-csv

Basic usage

request_planetary_altimetry \
  --dem stereo/output-DEM.tif \
  --email user@example.com

Then, once the data is downloaded and unzipped:

asp_report --directory ./ \
         --stereo-directory stereo \
         --altimetry-csv /path/to/MolaPEDR_*_topo_csv.csv \
         --no-basemap \
         --no-geometry

LOLA channels

For Moon DEMs, the --channels option controls which LOLA detector channels are included. LOLA has 5 detectors that fire simultaneously in a cross pattern. Including fewer channels produces smaller, faster queries:

# Channel 1 only (default, fastest)
request_planetary_altimetry --dem run/run-DEM.tif --email user@example.com --channels tffff

# All 5 channels (more points, slower query)
request_planetary_altimetry --dem run/run-DEM.tif --email user@example.com --channels ttttt

Request metadata

The tool saves an altimetry_request_info.yml file alongside the DEM containing the job ID, query parameters, bounding box, and submission timestamp.

Full options

Usage: request_planetary_altimetry [OPTIONS]

  Submit a LOLA or MOLA altimetry data request for a planetary DEM.

  Auto-detects the planetary body from the DEM's CRS and submits an
  asynchronous query to the ODE Granular Data System (GDS) REST API.

  Workflow:
    1. Run this command with your DEM and email
    2. Wait for the email notification (may take minutes to hours)
    3. Download and unzip the result
    4. Pass the *_topo_csv.csv to asp_plot via --altimetry-csv

  Example:
    request_planetary_altimetry --dem stereo/output-DEM.tif --email user@example.com
    # ... wait for email, download and unzip ...
    asp_report --directory ./ --altimetry-csv /path/to/*_topo_csv.csv

Options:
  --dem PATH       Path to the ASP DEM file. The planetary body (Moon/Mars) is
                   auto-detected from the CRS.  [required]
  --email TEXT     Email address for notification when the query finishes. You
                   will receive a download link.  [required]
  --channels TEXT  LOLA detector channels to include (Moon only). 5
                   characters, t=include/f=exclude. Default: tffff (channel 1
                   only, for faster queries). Use ttttt for all 5 channels.
  --help           Show this message and exit.