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At least 667 records · Page 37
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2015

Revisiting the West Clearwater Lake Impact Structure, Canada

The West and East Clearwater Lake impact structures are two of the most distinctive and recognizable impact structures on Earth. Known regionally as the "Clearwater Lake Complex", these structures are located in northern Quebec, Canada (56 deg 10 N, 74 deg 20 W) approximately 125 km east of Hudson Bay. The currently accepted diameters are 36 km and 26 km for the West and East structures, respectively. Long thought to represent a rare example of a double impact, recent age dating has called this into question with ages of approximately 286 Ma and approximately 460-470 Ma being proposed for the West and East structures, respectively. Relatively little is known about the East Clearwater Lake structure. There is no surface exposure and what information there is comes from geophysics and two drill cores obtained in the 1960s. In contrast, the West Clearwater Lake structure is relatively well preserved with large ring of islands in the approximately 30 km diameter lake. Much of the work done on West Clearwater stems from field investigations carried out in 1977 driven by the Apollo program, with a focus on the impact melt rocks and other impactites, which are well exposed on the ring of islands. To our knowledge, the Clearwater Lake impact structures have not been the focus of detailed impact geology field investigations since the 1977 expedition and the only geological map that exists is from the 1960s and is at the reconnaissance level. Our knowledge of impact cratering processes have increased substantially since this time, as have the analytical techniques available for samples. This provided the motivation for a joint Canadian-US-UK expedition to the West Clearwater Lake impact structure in August and September 2015, under the auspices of the FINESSE (Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration) project, part of NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI). We focus here on the impactites of the West Clearwater Lake impact structure. Other ongoing studies, also presented at this conference, focus on central uplift formation, the impact-generated hydrothermal system, xxxx and using WCIS as an analog test site for crew studies of sampling protocols].

West Clearwater Lake↗
NASA NTRS2013

A Web-Based Search Service to Support Imaging Spectrometer Instrument Operations

Imaging spectrometers yield rich and informative data products, but interpreting them demands time and expertise. There is a continual need for new algorithms and methods for rapid first-draft analyses to assist analysts during instrument opera-tions. Intelligent data analyses can summarize scenes to draft geologic maps, searching images to direct op-erator attention to key features. This validates data quality while facilitating rapid tactical decision making to select followup targets. Ideally these algorithms would operate in seconds, never grow bored, and be free from observation bias about the kinds of mineral-ogy that will be found.

hyperspectral imagery↗
NASA NTRS2013

UAVSAR Program: Initial Results from New Instrument Capabilities

UAVSAR is an imaging radar instrument suite that serves as NASA's airborne facility instrument to acquire scientific data for Principal Investigators as well as a radar test-bed for new radar observation techniques and radar technology demonstration. Since commencing operational science observations in January 2009, the compact, reconfigurable, pod-based radar has been acquiring L-band fully polarimetric SAR (POLSAR) data with repeat-pass interferometric (RPI) observations underneath NASA Dryden's Gulfstream-III jet to provide measurements for science investigations in solid earth and cryospheric studies, vegetation mapping and land use classification, archaeological research, soil moisture mapping, geology and cold land processes. In the past year, we have made significant upgrades to add new instrument capabilities and new platform options to accommodate the increasing demand for UAVSAR to support scientific campaigns to measure subsurface soil moisture, acquire data in the polar regions, and for algorithm development, verification, and cross-calibration with other airborne/spaceborne instruments.

P-band polarimetry↗
NASA NTRS2016

Geocam Space: Enhancing Handheld Digital Camera Imagery from the International Space Station for Research and Applications

Handheld astronaut photography of the Earth has been collected from the International Space Station (ISS) since 2000, making it the most temporally extensive remotely sensed dataset from this unique Low Earth orbital platform. Exclusive use of digital handheld cameras to perform Earth observations from the ISS began in 2004. Nadir viewing imagery is constrained by the inclined equatorial orbit of the ISS to between 51.6 degrees North and South latitude, however numerous oblique images of land surfaces above these latitudes are included in the dataset. While unmodified commercial off-the-shelf digital cameras provide only visible wavelength, three-band spectral information of limited quality current cameras used with long (400+ mm) lenses can obtain high quality spatial information approaching 2 meters/ground pixel resolution. The dataset is freely available online at the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth site (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov), and now comprises over 2 million images. Despite this extensive image catalog, use of the data for scientific research, disaster response, commercial applications and visualizations is minimal in comparison to other data collected from free-flying satellite platforms such as Landsat, Worldview, etc. This is due primarily to the lack of fully-georeferenced data products - while current digital cameras typically have integrated GPS, this does not function in the Low Earth Orbit environment. The Earth Science and Remote Sensing (ESRS) Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center provides training in Earth Science topics to ISS crews, performs daily operations and Earth observation target delivery to crews through the Crew Earth Observations (CEO) Facility on board ISS, and also catalogs digital handheld imagery acquired from orbit by manually adding descriptive metadata and determining an image geographic centerpoint using visual feature matching with other georeferenced data, e.g. Landsat, Google Earth, etc. The lack of full geolocation information native to the data makes it difficult to integrate astronaut photographs with other georeferenced data to facilitate quantitative analysis such as urban land cover/land use classification, change detection, or geologic mapping. The manual determination of image centerpoints is both time and labor-intensive, leading to delays in releasing geolocated and cataloged data to the public, such as the timely use of data for disaster response. The GeoCam Space project was funded by the ISS Program in 2015 to develop an on-orbit hardware and ground-based software system for increasing the efficiency of geolocating astronaut photographs from the ISS (Fig. 1). The Intelligent Robotics Group at NASA Ames Research Center leads the development of both the ground and on-orbit systems in collaboration with the ESRS Unit. The hardware component consists of modified smartphone elements including cameras, central processing unit, wireless Ethernet, and an inertial measurement unit (gyroscopes/accelerometers/magnetometers) reconfigured into a compact unit that attaches to the base of the current Nikon D4 camera - and its replacement, the Nikon D5 - and connects using the standard Nikon peripheral connector or USB port. This provides secondary, side and downward facing cameras perpendicular to the primary camera pointing direction. The secondary cameras observe calibration targets with known internal X, Y, and Z position affixed to the interior of the ISS to determine the camera pose corresponding to each image frame. This information is recorded by the GeoCam Space unit and indexed for correlation to the camera time recorded for each image frame. Data - image, EXIF header, and camera pose information - is transmitted to the ground software system (GeoRef) using the established Ku-band USOS downlink system. Following integration on the ground, the camera pose information provides an initial geolocation estimate for the individual film frame. This new capability represents a significant advance in geolocation from the manual feature-matching approach for both nadir and off-nadir viewing imagery. With the initial geolocation estimate, full georeferencing of an image is completed using the rapid tie-pointing interface in GeoRef, and the resulting data is added to the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth online database in both Geotiff and Keyhole Markup Language (kml) formats. The integration of the GeoRef software component of Geocam Space into the CEO image cataloging workflow is complete, and disaster response imagery acquired by the ISS crew is now fully georeferenced as a standard data product. The on-orbit hardware component (GeoSens) is in final prototyping phase, and is on-schedule for launch to the ISS in late 2016. Installation and routine use of the Geocam Space system for handheld digital camera photography from the ISS is expected to significantly improve the usefulness of this unique dataset for a variety of public- and private-sector applications.

Stefanov, William L.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Revised Constraints on Absolute Age Limits for Mercury's Kuiperian and Mansurian Stratigraphic Systems

Following an approach similar to that used for the Moon, Mercury's surface units were subdivided into five time-stratigraphic systems based on geologic mapping using Mariner 10 images. The absolute time scale originally suggested for the time periods associated with these systems was based on the assumption that the lunar impact flux history applied to Mercury. However, we find that the duration and onset of corresponding periods in the stratigraphic sequences on Mercury and the Moon are not the same. Using high-resolution and multiband image data obtained by the MErcury Surface, Space ENviroment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft, we identify and catalog fresh impact craters interpreted to have formed during Mercury's two most recent periods, the Mansurian and Kuiperian. We use the densities of the inferred Kuiperian- and Mansurian-aged crater populations to estimate new limits for the age boundaries of these time intervals. Results suggest that both the Mansurian and Kuiperian periods began more recently and extended for significantly shorter durations of time than previously suggested. The Kuiperian is estimated to have initiated as recently as approximately 280 plus or minus 60 Ma (million years) and the Mansurian as recently as approximately 1.7 plus or minus 0.2 Ga (billion years).

Mercury↗
NASA NTRS2020

Re-examination of the Population, Stratigraphy, and Sequence of Mercurian Basins: Implications for Mercury’s Early Impact History and Comparison with the Moon

Mercury has one of the best preserved impact records in the inner Solar System due to the absence of an atmosphere, but it has much higher rates of surface modification than on the Moon. The earliest geological mapping of the planet revealed a variety of important differences from the Moon, regarding the impact basin (D ≥ 300 km) and cratering record, as well as the extensive volcanic plains of Mercury [1-3]. It has been shown [3] that the bombardment history of the terrestrial planets is lunar-like and linked in terms of impactor population(s) and impact rates. Recent studies suggest that Mercury and the Moon had the same early impactor populations based on the similarity of their crater size-frequency distributions (CSFD), however the impact rates on Mercury are higher than on the Moon. Catalogued and characterized the basin population on Mercury using early optical data obtained by the MESSENGER spacecraft and found 46 certain and probable impact basins, as well as 41 tentative.

Orgel, C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

(abstract) Geology of the Venera and Vega Landing Sites

Geologic mapping of the seven Venera/Vega landing sites (radius of error = 150 km) using Magellan data has shown that the dominant type of terrain at these sites is plains. At the Venera 8 and 13 sites, where a nontholeiitic composition was measured for the surface material, the Magellan imagery shows that both these sites have unusual volcanic features associated with them, such as steep sided domes and coronalike features. At the other five sites, where no peculiar volcanic activity occurred within the landing circle, the landers measured geochemical signatures of tholeiitic basalts. This association between unusual volcanic activity and nontholeiitic composition suggests that the geochemistry measured by the landers correlates well with the morphology seen in the Magellan imagery. A strong correlation also exists between the SAR imagery and the TV panoramas taken by the Venera 9, 10, 13, and 14 landers. Based on Magellan data and the lander geochemical and TV panoramas, we have been able to suggest the most likely material in the Magellan imagery sampled by the landers.

Venera↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evidence for Present Day Volcanism on Venus: A Case Study of Idunn Mons

Idunn Mons in Imdr Regio on Venus is perhaps one of the best studied volcanoes on Venus in part due to having both radar and night-time emissivity data of the region [1-3]. Smrekar et al. [1] first presented night-time emissivity data of Idunn Mons from the VIRTIS instrument on Venus Express, which showed that some lava flows have high emissivity consistent with unweathered basalt. Smrekar et al. [1], based on known weathering rates at that time, suggested that the lava flows were less than 2.5 million years old and possible as young as 250,000 years old. However, recent experimental work has shown that basaltic rocks and associated minerals in contact with the Venusian caustic atmosphere would react quickly to produce rinds of alteration materials coating the surface and obscure emissivity signatures of igneous minerals within a few to ~10,000 years [4-9]. These new experimentally derived weathering and oxidation rates were used to suggest that lava flows at Idunn Mons with unweathered signatures are quite young and Idunn Mons may be volcanically active today [4, 8]. Independent geologic mapping and related stratigraphic reconstruction over the study area is consistent with the experimental results [2, 10]. Considering all the available evidence, we have taken a comprehensive approach combining these recent experimental results with previous orbital night-time emissivity, as well as atmospheric measurements, to constrain the evolution of Idunn Mons [3,10]. Our results suggest that Idunn Mons is both volcanically and tectonically active today, and that volcanism and tectonic activity are likely related [11]. Venus being volcanically active has been suggested at other volcanic centers, as well [e.g. 12-17]. Therefore, we use Idunn Mons specifically as a case study of a potentially active volcano that may be detectable by the upcoming fleet of missions that will be arriving at Venus in the next decade.

Justin Filiberto↗
NASA NTRS2022

Geology and Stratigraphic Correlation of the Murray and Carolyn Shoemaker Formations Across the Glen Torridon Region, Gale Crater, Mars

The Glen Torridon (GT) region within Gale crater, Mars, occurs in contact with the southern side of Vera Rubin ridge (VRR), a well-defined geomorphic feature that is comparatively resistant to erosion. Prior to detailed ground-based investigation of GT, its geologic relationship with VRR was unknown. Distinct lithologic subunits within the Jura member (Murray formation), which forms the upper part of VRR, made it possible to be also identified within GT. This indicates that the strata pass across the geomorphic divide between regions. Furthermore, the cross-bedded lower part of the overlying Knockfarril Hill member (Carolyn Shoemaker formation) also occurs within both VRR and GT. Correlation of both units demonstrates that the strata form a continuous stratigraphic succession regardless of large-scale geomorphic expression. The lithologic change from mudstone (Jura member) to cross-bedded sandstone (Knockfarril Hill member) heralds a significant shift in paleoenvironment from lacustrine to fluvial. The upper part of the Knockfarril Hill member consists of interbedded mudstone and sandstone that transitions to the overlying finely laminated mudstone of the Glasgow member, and a return to lacustrine deposition. In GT, the Stimson formation unconformably overlies the Glasgow member, where it demarks the southern boundary of GT. Contacts for each stratigraphic unit were defined and transferred to a high-resolution image base to make a geologic map and cross sections perpendicular to the NE strike. Stratal dips cannot exceed 2° NW to retain the positions of stratigraphic units in the locations they are exposed throughout GT.

C. M. Fedo↗
NASA NTRS2022

New Rover Conops with High-Performance Onboard Computing: Give Up Raw Data to Reduce Ops Cost and Do More Science

A major portion of time during the tactical operation of Mars rovers is spent for selecting, prioritizing, and coordinating sciences and engineering activities such that they fit within resource constraints, including the downlink data volume, energy, and time. In particular, the downlink data volume constraint is getting particularly tighter in recent missions because modern instruments produce increasingly high data volume while the communication bandwidth is essentially bounded by the law of physics. Tactical operation would be substantially simplified, hence the operation cost could be reduced, if the data volume constraint is relaxed or even removed. In this abstract, we propose a new operation paradigm for achieving this goal. The key observation is that, both in science and engineering applications, the bit size of raw data is typically much greater than the volume of processed information that is needed for scientific or engineering analysis. For example, a full-resolution image from Mastcam-Z, the main science camera on Perseverance, is about 700 kB in volume and we downlinked 29,685 images up to Sol 243, totaling ~20 GB of data. But of course, scientists do not use every pixel of these images; what they really look for in the images are geological features, typically represented by specific geometric configurations or textures. An end product after processing hundreds of Mascam-Z images could be a single geological map summarizing the spatial distribution of the features. For another example, a 100-meter drive of Perseverance produces 7-12 MB of drive telemetry, which records every detail of the rover's motion at 8 Hz, including position, attitude, steering angles, encoder readings, motor currents and many other information. But what the ground engineers eventually pay attention to is the signs of anomaly, such as excessive motor currents or high slip; if a drive is nominal, the vast majority of this data is unused. What if, then, we process the raw data onboard and only downlink the processed data that is relevant to scientific or engineering analyses, such as a list of detected science features (with cropped images) or a list of potential signs of anomaly while driving? A major roadblock for such onboard, high-level information processing has been the onboard computational resource. RAD750, the main onboard computer of Perseverance, is obviously not sufficient for performing complex image or signal processing such as object detection, semantic segmentation, or anomaly detection. Interestingly, RAD750 is not the best processor that Perseverance has; Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801, a modern mobile processor, is on her Heli Base Station, a device for communicating with Mars Helicopter Ingenuity; also, Intel's Atom E3845 processors are on engineering cameras. In the reminder of this paper, we will introduce two particular uses cases of these high-performance co-processors (meaning auxiliary CPU, GPU, or other types of processors that are separate from the main processor that runs the main flight software) for lowering operation cost and accommodating more science activities for a given communication constraint.

Didier, A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Regional geology of the Vega landing sites: Tentative results of photogeologic mapping

The regional geology of the two Vega landing sites, where geochemical measurements on the Venusian surface were made, was studied using Magellan Cl-MIDRP imagery and MIT-processed altimetry for the large region which we will call the Vega region (22.90 deg. N to 22.90 deg. S and 154.12 deg. W to 211.12 deg. E). The results of the analysis were compiled in the form of a synoptic geologic map of about 1:10 m scale.

Basilevsky, A. T.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Regional geology of the Venera landing sites: Tentative results of photogeologic mapping

The regional geology of the five Venera landing sites, where geochemical measurements and TV observations on the Venusian surface were made, was studied based on the photogeologic analysis of the Magellan C1-MIDRP imagery for the large area that we will call the Venera region (38 deg. N to 22.6 deg. S and 268 to 344 deg. E). The results of the analysis were compiled in the form of a synoptical geologic map at about 1:10 M scale. MIT-processed Magellan altimetry was also used for the analysis.

Basilevsky, A. T.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Airborne and spaceborne radar images for geologic and environmental mapping in the Amazon rain forest, Brazil

Spaceborne and airborne radar image of portions of the Middle and Upper Amazon basin in the state of Amazonas and the Territory of Roraima are compared for purposes of geological and environmental mapping. The contrasted illumination geometries and imaging parameters are related to terrain slope and surface roughness characteristics for corresponding areas that were covered by each of the radar imaging systems. Landforms range from deeply dissected mountain and plateau with relief up to 500 m in Roraima, revealing ancient layered rocks through folded residual mountains to deeply beveled pediplain in Amazonas. Geomorphic features provide distinct textural signatures that are characteristic of different rock associations. The principle drainages in the areas covered are the Rio Negro, Rio Branco, and the Rio Japura. Shadowing effects and low radar sensitivity to subtle linear fractures that are aligned parallel or nearly parallel to the direction of radar illumination illustrate the need to obtain multiple coverage with viewing directions about 90 degrees. Perception of standing water and alluvial forest in floodplains varies with incident angle and with season. Multitemporal data sets acquired over periods of years provide an ideal method of monitoring environmental changes.

Ford, John P.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Creating a system for the geological exploitation of satellite images: Automatic mapping and geophysical data comparison

A method is presented for integrating satellite images into a geophysical data interpretation system. Aspects of the method include: an attempt to automatically interpret images by structural, mainly topological, methods for the mapping of geological contours; an analysis of the position relation of the contours gives a skeleton stratigraphy (order of succession); and a system combining some of the extracted elements with geographic data to make an objective search for an interpretation hypothesis. Some examples are presented.

Braconne, S.↗
NASA NTRS2004

MER Field Geologic Traverse in Gusev Crater, Mars: Initial Results From the Perspective of Spirit

This report casts the initial results of the traverse and science investigations by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit at Gusev crater [1] in terms of data sets commonly used in field geologic investigations: Local mapping of geologic features, analyses of selected samples, and their location within the local map, and the regional context of the field traverse in terms of the larger geologic and physiographic region. These elements of the field method are represented in the MER characterization of the Gusev traverse by perspective-based geologic/morphologic maps, the placement of the results from Mossbauer, APXS, Microscopic Imager, Mini-TES and Pancam multispectral studies in context within this geologic/ morphologic map, and the placement of the overall traverse in the context of narrow-angle MOC (Mars Orbiter Camera) and descent images. A major campaign over a significance fraction of the mission will be the first robotic traverse of the ejecta from a Martian impact crater along an approximate radial from the crater center. The Mars Exploration Rovers have been conceptually described as 'robotic field geologists', that is, a suite of instruments with mobility that enables far-field traverses to multiple sites located within a regional map/image base at which in situ analyses may be done. Initial results from MER, where the field geologic method has been used throughout the initial course of the investigation, confirm that this field geologic model is applicable for remote planetary surface exploration. The field geologic method makes use of near-field geologic characteristics ('outcrops') to develop an understanding of the larger geologic context through continuous loop of rational steps focused on real-time hypothesis identification and testing. This poster equates 'outcrops' with the locations of in situ investigations and 'regional context' with the geology over distance of several kilometers. Using this fundamental field geologic method, we have identified the basic local geologic materials on the floor of Gusev at this site, their compositions and likely lithologies, origins, processes that have modified these materials, and their potential significance in the interpretation of the regional geology both spatially and temporally.

Crumpler, L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Evaluation of SIR-B imagery for geologic and geomorphic mapping, hydrology, and oceanography in Australia

The objectives of a study to evaluate the potential of Shuttle Imaging Radar-B (SIR-B) imagery for various applications are outlined. Specific goals include: the development of techniques for registration multiple acquisition, varied illumination, and incidence-angle SIR-B imagery, and a model for estimation of the relative contributions to the backscattered radiation of topography, surface roughness, and dielectric and conductivity components; (2) the evaluation of SIR-B imagery for delineation of agricultural lands affected by secondary salinity in the southwest and southeast agricultural regions of Australia; (3) the development of techniques for application of SIR-B imagery for geologic, geomorphologic and soils mapping and mineral exploration; and (4) the evaluation of the use of SIR-B imagery in determining ocean currents, current shear patterns, internal waves and bottom features for specific locations off the Australian coast.

Honey, F. R.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Preliminary Mariner 9 report on the geology of Mars.

Mariner 9 results indicate that Mars is geologically far more heterogeneous than previously suspected from earlier flyby missions; the surface has been shaped by volcanic, tectonic, erosional, and depositional activity. The equatorial region between 30 deg N and 30 deg S latitude is depicted in four geologic sketch maps, and seventeen geologic units are defined on the basis of their textural characteristics. The maps and the brief descriptions of geological units portrayed are followed by a series of more interpretive discussions dealing with topical problems and a summary geologic history. Topics covered include cratering, circular basins, volcanism, canyons, chaotic terrain, channels, and eolian activity.

Mccauley, J. F.↗