This add-on will be posted once I sort out the permissions and distribution logistics to get it on the Celestia Motherlode!It was only a matter of time, but the SLDEM2013 finally got processed into a
**Level 7** normal map!
This was made possible by a fellow Orbinaut, kamaz, who downloaded and downsampled
79% of the map
to 512 ppd, near its effective resolution. I cannot thank him enough for his efforts, and saving me a call from my ISP!
The map was originally 2 terabytes, but I learned its effective resolution was between
256-512ppd, likely close to a
tenth of the resolution**, as mentioned
here. Since going to level 8 would only offer a marginal improvement in quality,
I opted for a level 7 normal map. I tested fridger's nmtools, and yes, they work for 131k maps!

Level 7 took about 30 minutes to process.
Once I saw the results in Celestia, I was blown away. I couldn't even tell the underlying texture map was only 32k!
Goes to show that a good normal map goes a
long way to making a planet look awesome.
Some previews of the normal map:
Attachment:
File comment: Near Aristarchus crater
elev_preview_1.png [ 475.17 KiB | Viewed 2583 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Tycho @ Level 7
tycho.jpg [ 283.39 KiB | Viewed 2583 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Montes Jura @ Level 7
montes_jura.jpg [ 143.2 KiB | Viewed 2583 times ]
Compared to the GLD100:
Attachment:
File comment: GLD100 @ 64k
GLD_vs_TC_1.png [ 342.92 KiB | Viewed 2583 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: TC @ 64k
GLD_vs_TC_2.jpg [ 253.18 KiB | Viewed 2583 times ]
The last two images demonstrate why a ridiculous* (1.4 megapixels by 737k pixels across!) resolution is needed to
ensure a decently detailed stereo-pair-derived DTM.
*Ridiculous-res is more the rule than the exception for remote sensing

**The team mentioned the effective resolution of the GLD100 was ~1km per pixel, or about a tenth of the detail of the original stereo-pairs.