9,899 research outputs found
Utilization of Geographic Information System in Lunar Mapping
Substantial digital remote sensing, lunar orbital photography, Earth-based remote sensing, and mapping of a variety of surficial lunar phenomena have occurred since the advent of the Space Age. This has led to a bewildering and quite disparate collection of archival sources insofar as this digital data and its cartographic representation can be found within many countries of the world. The importance of this mapping program in support of human expansion onto our nearest planetary neighbor has been recognized. A series of small scale maps of the Moon at 1 km to 1 cm, done with the support of Geographic Information System (GIS), would serve decision makers well in the process of accessing the development of manned occupance of the Moon. Maps and the data that they are derived from are the primary way in which people explore new environments and use previously discovered data to increase the bounties of any exploration. The inherent advantage of GIS is that it would allow immediate online access on the Moon of topographically represented data with analysis either on site or from Earth
Terrestrial exposure of a fresh Martian meteorite causes rapid changes in hydrogen isotopes and water concentrations
Determining the hydrogen isotopic compositions and H2O contents of meteorites and their components is important for addressing key cosmochemical questions about the abundance and source(s) of water in planetary bodies. However, deconvolving the effects of terrestrial contamination from the indigenous hydrogen isotopic compositions of these extraterrestrial materials is not trivial, because chondrites and some achondrites show only small deviations from terrestrial values such that even minor contamination can mask the indigenous values. Here we assess the effects of terrestrial weathering and contamination on the hydrogen isotope ratios and H2O contents of meteoritic minerals through monitored terrestrial weathering of Tissint, a recent Martian fall. Our findings reveal the rapidity with which this weathering affects nominally anhydrous phases in extraterrestrial materials, which illustrates the necessity of sampling the interiors of even relatively fresh meteorite falls and underlines the importance of sample return missions
Planetary cartography in the next decade: Digital cartography and emerging opportunities
Planetary maps being produced today will represent views of the solar system for many decades to come. The primary objective of the planetary cartography program is to produce the most complete and accurate maps from hundreds of thousands of planetary images in support of scientific studies and future missions. Here, the utilization of digital techniques and digital bases in response to recent advances in computer technology are emphasized
The SSDC contribution to the improvement of knowledge by means of 3D data projections of minor bodies
The latest developments of planetary exploration missions devoted to minor
bodies required new solutions to correctly visualize and analyse data acquired
over irregularly shaped bodies. ASI Space Science Data Center (SSDC-ASI,
formerly ASDC-ASI Science Data Center) worked on this task since early 2013,
when started developing the web tool MATISSE (Multi-purpose Advanced Tool for
the Instruments of the Solar System Exploration) mainly focused on the
Rosetta/ESA space mission data. In order to visualize very high-resolution
shape models, MATISSE uses a Python module (vtpMaker), which can also be
launched as a stand-alone command-line software. MATISSE and vtpMaker are part
of the SSDC contribution to the new challenges imposed by the "orbital
exploration" of minor bodies: 1) MATISSE allows to search for specific
observations inside datasets and then analyse them in parallel, providing
high-level outputs; 2) the 3D capabilities of both tools are critical in
inferring information otherwise difficult to retrieve for non-spherical targets
and, as in the case for the GIADA instrument onboard Rosetta, to visualize data
related to the coma. New tasks and features adding valuable capabilities to the
minor bodies SSDC tools are planned for the near future thanks to new
collaborations
Characterization of dust activity on Mars from MY27 to MY32 by PFS-MEX observations
We present spatial and temporal distributions of dust on Mars from Ls = 331
in MY26 until Ls = 80 in MY33 retrieved from the measurements taken by the
Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) aboard Mars Express. In agreement with
previous observations, large dust opacity is observed mostly in the southern
hemisphere spring/summer and particularly over regions of higher terrain and
large topographic variation. We present a comparison with dust opacities
obtained from Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) - Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
measurements. We found good consistency between observations of two instruments
during overlapping interval (Ls = 331 in MY26 until Ls = 77 in MY27). We found
a different behavior of the dust opacity with latitude in the various Martian
years (inter-annual variations). A global dust storm occurred in MY28. We
observe a different spatial distribution, a later occurrence and dissipation of
the dust maximum activity in MY28 than in other Martian years. A possible
precursor signal to the global dust storm in MY 28 is observed at Ls = 200 -
235 especially over west Hellas. Heavy dust loads alter atmospheric
temperatures. Due to the absorption of solar radiation and emission of infrared
radiation to space by dust vertically non-uniformly distributed, a strong
heating of high atmospheric levels (40 - 50 km) and cooling below around 30 km
are observed.Comment: in press in Icarus. 47 pages, 15 figure
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