Convert VICAR to VIPS

The VICAR (Video Image Communication and Retrieval) file extension is a specialized raster image format developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1966 to manage and process imaging data from unmanned planetary missions. It supports multi-dimensional scientific data, including spectroscopic, hyperspectral, and radar imagery, making it suitable for space exploration, biomedical imaging, and geological studies. The format includes metadata for data integrity and usability, and the software system is now open-source.

The VIPS (Virtual Image Processing System) file format, developed by the libvips library, is designed for high-performance image processing with low memory usage. It supports arbitrary metadata and is optimized for command-line operations. Although not widely supported by other programs, it serves as an efficient intermediate format for tasks like image inversion and gamma correction. The format includes a 64-byte header with basic fields such as image width and a set of band-interleaved scanlines for the image data.