Example embodiments include a method that improves calculations of surface roughness that map a planetary surface. The method includes calculating a V-system matrix with a size of α×α in an interval [0,1]; transforming the V-system matrix into an orthogonal matrix; improving calculations of the surface roughness of the planetary surface by calculating the surface roughness of a digital elevation model generated from data captured from the planetary surface; and generating a map of the planetary surface based on the surface roughness.