Validating the Camera and Light Simulation of a Virtual Reality Testbed by Means of Physical Mockup Data

The Virtual Space Robotics Test bed currently being developed serves as a decision support system in various space mission scenarios like e.g. Rendezvous and docking (RvD) and planetary landing and exploration. In the scope of the research project it is used for the generation and evaluation of images, acquired by a planetary lander during the descent phase. Therefore, camera characteristics and lighting conditions are analyzed and simulation methods are developed and integrated to the Virtual Test bed. To gain close-to-reality and trust-able results, a validation with correct data, obtained by a physical planetary landing mock up, is necessary. This process is described in the paper.