Exploring Geomorphic Processes and Martian Gale Crater Topography on Mars using CTX and HiRISE Express Image Dataset

Abstract. Exploration of Martian surface and the crater deposition has recently attracted scientific community. We hypothesized the existence of momentous topographic features of different origin on the Martian surface. It was observed that Gale Crater has a thick sediment deposition mainly of fluvial and aeolian origin. This study has utilized spatially referenced topographic dataset Context Camera images acquired from Mars reconnaissance orbiter for exploring the geomorphic processes and topography of Gale Crater. A base map was prepared by mosaicking all imagesfor preparing geomorphologic map of the crater. Surface map of the topography of the Crater was prepared using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. HiRISE images were used to examine the identified geomorphic features. Results revealed that the presence of both fluvial and aeolian processes and their respective associated landforms in the Crater. Depositional landforms such as alluvial fan, inverted channel and mound and erosional landform namely canyons were distinctly identified on the image. Yardangs produced by erosional and ripple and dunes formed by the depositional work of wind were also identified in the Crater. The fluvial channel, inverted channels and fan shaped deposits further signifies ongoing aqueous activity on the Gale Crater. Sinuous ridges are the common features present on the floor of Crater. Rock particles, sand and silt in the crater were found to have been transported and deposited by flowing water on its floor. Presence of different sedimentary structures and valley revealed ancient sedimentary deposition due to water action. Significant ejecta morphologies were also identified on Martian surface. Our study confirms the previous studies that presence of H2O sub surface volatiles. Concentrations of volatiles have produced double layer ejecta morphology. The concept and findings of this study will escalate knowledge about the surface features on Gale Crater. However, more coherent investigation is needed for modelling and understanding the processes and landforms of the crater. Context Camera (CTX) and High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images have proved useful for geomorphic and topographic mapping of the Mars planet. The dataset used in this study can be accessed on Mars Orbital Data Explorer (https://ode.rsl.wustl.edu/mars/indexproductsearch.aspx).

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Avalanches of the martian north polar cap

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-22331 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Patricio Becerra ◽

Susan Conway ◽

Nicholas Thomas ◽

Keyword(s):

Polar Regions ◽

Martian Surface ◽

Polar Cap ◽

Water Ice ◽

The North ◽

Imaging Science ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

North Polar ◽

Gas Expansion ◽

Trigger Mechanisms

In 2008, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on board NASA&#8217;s MRO fortuitously captured several discrete clouds of material in the process of cascading down a steep scarp of the water-ice-rich north polar layered deposits (NPLD). The events were only seen during a period of ~4 weeks, near the onset of martian northern spring in 2008, when the seasonal cover of CO2 is beginning to sublimate from the north polar regions. Russell et al. [1] analyzed the morphology of the clouds, inferring that the particles involved were mechanically analogous to terrestrial &#8220;dry, loose snow or dust&#8221;, so that the events were similar to terrestrial &#8220;powder avalanches&#8221; [2]. HiRISE confirmed the seasonality of avalanche occurrence the following spring, and continued to capture between 30 and 50 avalanches per season (fig. 1b,c) between 2008 and 2019, for a total of 7 Mars Years (MY29&#8211;MY35) of continuous scarp monitoring.In this work we will present statistics on these events, in an attempt to quantify their effect on the mass balance of the NPLD, and with respect to competing processes such as viscous deformation and stress-induced block falls that do not trigger avalanches [3,4]. We also use a 1D thermal model [5] to investigate the sources and trigger mechanisms of these events. The model tracks the accumulation and ablation of seasonal CO2 frost on a martian surface. Russell et al. [1] support an initiation through gas-expansion related to the presence of CO2 frost on the scarp. Therefore the amount of frost that lingers on different sections of the model scarp at the observed time of the avalanches will provide evidence either for or against this particular mechanism. We will present preliminary results and discuss their implications.References: [1] P. Russell et al. (2008) Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L23204. [2] D. McClung, P.A. Schaerer (2006), Mountaineers, Seattle Wash. [3] Sori, M. M., et al., Geophys. Res. Lett., 43. [4] Byrne et al. (2016), 6th Int. Conf. Mars Polar Sci. Exploration [4] C. M. Dundas and S. Byrne (2010) Icarus 206, 716.

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AN INVESTIGATION OF THE HYPOTHESES FOR FORMATION OF THE PLATY-RIDGED-POLYGONIZED TERRAIN IN ELYSIUM PLANITIA, MARS

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-3-w1-205-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol XLII-3/W1 ◽

pp. 205-211

Author(s):

Z. Yue ◽

S. Gou ◽

G. Michael ◽

K. Di ◽

H. Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Martian Surface ◽

Basalt Lava ◽

Regional Environment ◽

Low Viscosity ◽

Quantitative Measurements ◽

Scientific Exploration ◽

Pack Ice ◽

Crater Counting ◽

Imaging Science ◽

Resolution Imaging

The origin of the platy-ridged-polygonized (PRP) terrains on Martian surface has long been debated. The terrain has generally been classified as water, pack ice, or basalt lava related flow. The crater counting results of the PRP terrains suggest they are geologically very young; therefore, they are significant in understanding the recent evolution of Mars. This work evaluated the current hypotheses through detailed analysis of the distribution and microtopographies with the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images for the PRP terrains in Elysium Planitia, Mars. Quantitative measurements and statistics of the typical features of the PRP terrains were also made. In addition, we also found an analog site in Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, China. Our results suggest that mud flow is responsible for the formation of the PRP terrains on the Mars surface, although the hypothesis of low-viscosity basalt lava floods cannot be completely excluded. This finding implies that a regional environment suitable for liquid water may have existed in recent geologic time, which has great importance for future Mars scientific exploration.

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COMPARISON AND CO-REGISTRATION OF DEMS GENERATED FROM HiRISE AND CTX IMAGES

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xli-b4-511-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol XLI-B4 ◽

pp. 511-517

Author(s):

Yiran Wang ◽

Bo Wu

Keyword(s):

Landing Site ◽

Systematic Investigation ◽

Topographic Mapping ◽

High Resolution Imaging ◽

Complex Environment ◽

Martian Surface ◽

Mars Rover ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Imaging Science ◽

Resolution Imaging

Images from two sensors, the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and the Context Camera (CTX), both on-board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), were used to generate high-quality DEMs (Digital Elevation Models) of the Martian surface. However, there were discrepancies between the DEMs generated from the images acquired by these two sensors due to various reasons, such as variations in boresight alignment between the two sensors during the flight in the complex environment. This paper presents a systematic investigation of the discrepancies between the DEMs generated from the HiRISE and CTX images. A combined adjustment algorithm is presented for the co-registration of HiRISE and CTX DEMs. Experimental analysis was carried out using the HiRISE and CTX images collected at the Mars Rover landing site and several other typical regions. The results indicated that there were systematic offsets between the HiRISE and CTX DEMs in the longitude and latitude directions. However, the offset in the altitude was less obvious. After combined adjustment, the offsets were eliminated and the HiRISE and CTX DEMs were co-registered to each other. The presented research is of significance for the synergistic use of HiRISE and CTX images for precision Mars topographic mapping.

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ESTIMATION OF AEOLIAN DUNE MIGRATION OVER MARTIAN SURFACE EMPLOYING HIGH PRECISION PHOTOGRAMMETRIC MEASUREMENTS

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-3-w1-63-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol XLII-3/W1 ◽

pp. 63-68

Author(s):

J. Kim

Keyword(s):

High Accuracy ◽

High Resolution Imaging ◽

Migration Speed ◽

Martian Surface ◽

Small Surface ◽

Imaging Science ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Pixel Image ◽

Dune Migration

At the present time, arguments continue regarding the migration speeds of Martian dune fields and their correlation with atmospheric circulation. However, precisely measuring the spatial translation of Martian dunes has been rarely successful due to the technical difficulties to quantitatively observe expected small surface migrations. Therefore, we developed a generic procedure to measure the migration of dune fields employing a high-accuracy photogrammetric processor and sub-pixel image correlator on the 25-cm resolution High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). The established algorithms have been tested over a few Martian dune fields. Consequently, migrations over well-known crater dune fields appeared to be almost static for the considerable temporal periods and were weakly correlated with wind directions estimated by the Mars Climate Database. Only over some Martian dune fields, such as Kaiser crater, meaningful migration speeds (>&thinsp;1m/year) considering photogrammetric error residual have been detected. Currently a technically improved processor to compensate error residual using time series observation is under development and expected to produce the long term migration speed over Martian dune fields where constant HiRISE image acquisitions are available.

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IDENTIFYING SURFACE CHANGES ON HRSC IMAGES OF THE MARS SOUTH POLAR RESIDUAL CAP (SPRC)

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprsarchives-xli-b4-463-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol XLI-B4 ◽

pp. 463-469

Author(s):

Alfiah Rizky Diana Putri ◽

Panagiotis Sidiropoulos ◽

Jan-Peter Muller

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

European Space Agency ◽

Martian Surface ◽

Mars Global Surveyor ◽

Space Agency ◽

Imaging Science ◽

Resolution Imaging ◽

Visual Imaging ◽

Better Than ◽

Surface Changes

The surface of Mars has been an object of interest for planetary research since the launch of Mariner 4 in 1964. Since then different cameras such as the Viking Visual Imaging Subsystem (VIS), Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Context Camera (CTX) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) have been imaging its surface at ever higher resolution. The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board of the European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Express, has been imaging the Martian surface, since 25th December 2003 until the present-day. HRSC has covered 100 % of the surface of Mars, about 70 % of the surface with panchromatic images at 10-20 m/pixel, and about 98 % at better than 100 

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COMPARISON AND CO-REGISTRATION OF DEMS GENERATED FROM HiRISE AND CTX IMAGES

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprsarchives-xli-b4-511-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol XLI-B4 ◽

pp. 511-517

Author(s):

Yiran Wang ◽

Bo Wu

Keyword(s):

Landing Site ◽

Systematic Investigation ◽

Topographic Mapping ◽

High Resolution Imaging ◽

Complex Environment ◽

Martian Surface ◽

Mars Rover ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Imaging Science ◽

Resolution Imaging

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Rapid Single Image-Based DTM Estimation from ExoMars TGO CaSSIS Images Using Generative Adversarial U-Nets

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13152877 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 2877

Author(s):

Yu Tao ◽

Siting Xiong ◽

Susan J. Conway ◽

Jan-Peter Muller ◽

Anthony Guimpier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Large Scale ◽

Imaging System ◽

Landing Site ◽

Parameter Tuning ◽

Processing Parameters ◽

Input Image ◽

Large Area ◽

Laser Altimeter ◽

Imaging Science

The lack of adequate stereo coverage and where available, lengthy processing time, various artefacts, and unsatisfactory quality and complexity of automating the selection of the best set of processing parameters, have long been big barriers for large-area planetary 3D mapping. In this paper, we propose a deep learning-based solution, called MADNet (Multi-scale generative Adversarial u-net with Dense convolutional and up-projection blocks), that avoids or resolves all of the above issues. We demonstrate the wide applicability of this technique with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) 4.6 m/pixel images on Mars. Only a single input image and a coarse global 3D reference are required, without knowing any camera models or imaging parameters, to produce high-quality and high-resolution full-strip Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) in a few seconds. In this paper, we discuss technical details of the MADNet system and provide detailed comparisons and assessments of the results. The resultant MADNet 8 m/pixel CaSSIS DTMs are qualitatively very similar to the 1 m/pixel HiRISE DTMs. The resultant MADNet CaSSIS DTMs display excellent agreement with nested Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera (CTX), Mars Express’s High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) DTMs at large-scale, and meanwhile, show fairly good correlation with the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) DTMs for fine-scale details. In addition, we show how MADNet outperforms traditional photogrammetric methods, both on speed and quality, for other datasets like HRSC, CTX, and HiRISE, without any parameter tuning or re-training of the model. We demonstrate the results for Oxia Planum (the landing site of the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin ExoMars rover 2023) and a couple of sites of high scientific interest.

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Detection Capability Verification and Performance Test for the High Resolution Imaging Camera of China’s Tianwen-1 Mission

Space Science Reviews ◽

10.1007/s11214-021-00844-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 217 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Wei Yan ◽

Jianjun Liu ◽

Xin Ren ◽

Chunlai Li ◽

Qiang Fu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Data Processing ◽

High Resolution Imaging ◽

Martian Surface ◽

Detection Capability ◽

High Quality ◽

Mars Exploration ◽

Imaging Camera ◽

High Resolution Images ◽

Resolution Imaging

AbstractHigh-resolution optical cameras have always been important scientific payloads in Mars exploration missions, which can obtain detailed images of Martian surface for the study of geomorphology, topography and geological structure. At present, there are still many challenges for Mars high-resolution images in terms of global coverage, stereo coverage (especially for colour images), and data processing methods. High Resolution Imaging Camera (HiRIC) is a high-quality, multi-mode, multi-functional, multi-spectral remote sensing camera that is suitable for the deep space developed for China’s first Mars Exploration Mission (Tianwen-1), which was successfully launched in July 2020. Here we design special experiments based on the in-orbit detection conditions of Tianwen-1 mission to comprehensively verify the detection capability and the performance of HiRIC, from the aspects of image motion compensation effect, focusing effect, image compression quality, and data preprocessing accuracy. The results showed that the performance status of HiRIC meets the requirements of obtaining high resolution images on the Martian surface. Furthermore, proposals for HiRIC in-orbit imaging strategy and data processing are discussed to ensure the acquisition of high-quality HiRIC images, which is expected to serve as a powerful complementation to the current Mars high-resolution images.

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