In modern planetary study, why is sophisticated processing technology as important as the telescope?

It sifts raw electronic readings to turn them into interpretable maps and chemical signatures by reducing noise.

While capturing the signal is the first step, advanced computational power, referred to as processing technology, is essential for making sense of the gathered data. This involves using supercomputing power and sophisticated algorithms to sift through vast quantities of raw electronic readings—petabytes in some cases. A critical function of this processing is performing advanced noise reduction to distinguish genuine faint planetary signals from background static or instrument artifacts. Without this computational element, the raw data, regardless of how well it was collected, could not be reliably translated into beautiful, interpretable chemical signatures and maps.