The idea is to locate an exact same point in any planet where humans stay or visit.
Considering the size of the planet. Define the standard metrics using earth's measurements.
Marcelo,
The only thing to define is 0 longitude. 0 latitude is taken care of thanks to spin (unless you've a pathological planet).
Spherical polar co-ords, and away you go.
Concur with James Garry. 0 longitude is the key. But difficult. How to link it? A suggestion (provided that radar data is being gathered of the surface configuration of the planet) is to link 0 longitude with the highest elevation on the planetary body. For earth, that would link 0 longitude with the peak of Mt. Everest/Qumulongma.
Presuming that the planet is rotating the axis of rotation should provide a fixed reference that defines the planet's equator and thus 0° latitude. I would select a conspicuous object on the equator to establish 0° longitude. We have Mars as an example but I do not know what be the Martian coordinate system.
Dwight, the zero longitude for Mars was fixed back in the 1830s.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Where_is_zero_degrees_longitude_on_Mars
AH so, that was before the drought that dried up all of the "canali's", no? I presume that we have estabished coordinate systems for all of the major objects in the solar system that we have visited and I presume that they were established logically.
With regard to Mars, as you state, we have "For Mars, the prime meridian was first defined by the German astronomers W. Beer and J. H. Mädler in 1830-32. They used a small circular feature on the surface, which they called 'A’, as a reference point to determine the rotation period of the planet." The axis of rotation was used to define latitude. Hence my proposed very unsophisticated and obvious approach was actually used on Mars.
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