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Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth
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Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 46360

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Stephan van Gasselt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Geomatics Group, National Chengchi University, Taipei 11605, Taiwan
Interests: cartographic models; temporal topology and data models; geographic information sciences and technology; remote sensing data analysis; planetary geology and geomorphology; planetary resources and exploration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Andrea Nass

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Department of Planetary Geology, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
Interests: cartography; planetary cartography and mapping; spatial data management; data infrastructures; ontologies; metadata; spatial data visualization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cartography is our only way to place data and knowledge about objects in the solar system into a broader spatial context. It enables us to gather information, detect relationships, and visualize shapes of objects, topographic and compositional characteristics, and temporal dynamics. Cartography helps us to plan, locate, coordinate, and analyze our exploration attempts on various scales. Yet, cartography is more than just the spatial framework that allows us to relate observations.

The Special Issue “Cartography of the Solar System—Remote Sensing Beyond Earth” aims to collect original research and in-depth reviews covering the cartography of the solar system, ranging from planetary surfaces, over natural satellites, dwarf planets, to small bodies based on data from satellite remote sensing.

The topical framework is explicitly broad and includes basic research as well as applications of remote sensing methods and cartographic techniques to build cartographic products. We welcome contributions in the fields of cartographic communication, mapping techniques, map projections, and reference systems, as well as topics covering analytical and algorithm-oriented cartography. With geographic information system science and technology playing an integral role, we would like to see contributions in the fields of digital remote-sensing data management, spatial model building, data models, and spatial databases, as well as spatial infrastructures and metadata in the field of planetary sciences.

Papers covering applied topics and decision-making processes, e.g., landing site selection, natural resource mapping, geologic mapping, hazards, and others, would provide a balance to theoretical contributions.

With the rapid increases in the large volumes of data posing new challenges and providing new opportunities in planetary cartography, we welcome contributions on the topics of advanced remote sensing data visualization, interactive maps, web mapping, and dynamic data visualization based on modern data science techniques in particular.

Prof. Dr. Stephan van Gasselt
Dr. Andrea Nass
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Planetary cartography
  • Planetary mapping using remote sensing data
  • Satellite remote sensing
  • Spatial data models
  • Map projections and reference systems
  • Cartographic communication
  • Visualization of remote sensing data
  • Data infrastructures
  • Remote sensing data science
  • Planets and solar system objects
  • Dynamic and interactive maps

Published Papers (17 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Other

4 pages, 176 KiB  
Editorial
Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth
by Stephan van Gasselt and Andrea Naß
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(14), 3684; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs15143684 - 24 Jul 2023
Viewed by 795
Abstract
Cartography is traditionally associated with map making and the visualization of spatial information [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Other

22 pages, 1721 KiB  
Article
A Semantic View on Planetary Mapping—Investigating Limitations and Knowledge Modeling through Contextualization and Composition
by Stephan van Gasselt and Andrea Nass
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(6), 1616; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs15061616 - 16 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1336
Abstract
The concept of planetary mapping constitutes different activities within different contexts. Much like the field of cartography, it is an amalgamation of science, techniques, and artistic disciplines. It has undergone considerable changes over the last decades to cope with increasing demands related to [...] Read more.
The concept of planetary mapping constitutes different activities within different contexts. Much like the field of cartography, it is an amalgamation of science, techniques, and artistic disciplines. It has undergone considerable changes over the last decades to cope with increasing demands related to data management, analysis, and visualization. Planetary mapping employs abstraction, which involves simplifications and generalizations. It aims to produce accessible visualization of planetary surfaces to gain insights and knowledge. Here, we show that different manifestations of this concept are interdependent and we discuss how different mapping concepts relate to each other semantically. We reason that knowledge gain can only be achieved through thematic mapping. The reasoning for systematic mapping and exploration is an intellectual product of thematic mapping. In order to highlight these relationships, we (a) develop in-depth definitions for different types of planetary mapping, (b) discuss data and knowledge flow across different mapping concepts, and (c) highlight systemic limitations related to data that we acquire and attempt to abstract through models. We finally develop a semantic proto-model that focuses on the transformation of information and knowledge between mapping domains. We furthermore argue that due to compositionality, map products suffer not only from abstraction but also from limitations related to uncertainties during data processing. We conclude that a complete database is needed for mapping in order to establish contextualization and extract knowledge. That knowledge is needed for reasoning for planning and operational decision making. This work furthermore aims to motivate future community-based discussions on functional semantic models and ontologies for the future development of knowledge extraction from thematic maps. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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21 pages, 24338 KiB  
Article
L2AMF-Net: An L2-Normed Attention and Multi-Scale Fusion Network for Lunar Image Patch Matching
by Wenhao Zhong, Jie Jiang and Yan Ma
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(20), 5156; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14205156 - 15 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1492
Abstract
The terrain-relative navigation (TRN) method is often used in entry, descent and landing (EDL) systems for position estimation and navigation of spacecraft. In contrast to the crater detection method, the image patch matching method does not depend on the integrity of the database [...] Read more.
The terrain-relative navigation (TRN) method is often used in entry, descent and landing (EDL) systems for position estimation and navigation of spacecraft. In contrast to the crater detection method, the image patch matching method does not depend on the integrity of the database and the saliency of the crater features. However, there are four difficulties associated with lunar images: illumination transformation, perspective transformation, resolution mismatch, and the lack of texture. Deep learning offers possible solutions. In this paper, an L2-normed attention and multi-scale fusion network (L2AMF-Net) was proposed for patch descriptor learning to effectively overcome the above four difficulties and achieve lunar image patch matching accurately and robustly. On the one hand, an L2-Attention unit (LAU) was proposed to generate attention score maps in spatial and channel dimensions and enhance feature extraction. On the other hand, a multi-scale feature self and fusion enhance structure (SFES) was proposed to fuse multi-scale features and enhance the feature representations. L2AMF-Net achieved a 95.57% matching accuracy and excellent performance compared with several other methods in lunar image patch dataset generated in this paper. Experiments verified the illumination, perspective and texture robustness of L2AMF-Net and the validity of the attention module and feature fusion structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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24 pages, 2601 KiB  
Article
Approach towards a Holistic Management of Research Data in Planetary Science—Use Case Study Based on Remote Sensing Data
by Andrea Nass, Martin Mühlbauer, Torsten Heinen, Mathias Böck, Robert Munteanu, Mario D’Amore, Torsten Riedlinger, Thomas Roatsch, Günter Strunz and Jörn Helbert
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(7), 1598; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14071598 - 26 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1765
Abstract
In the planetary sciences, the volume of remote sensing data and derived research products has been continuously increasing over the last five decades. The amount and complexity of data require growing sophistication in data analysis, data management, and data provision targeted at a [...] Read more.
In the planetary sciences, the volume of remote sensing data and derived research products has been continuously increasing over the last five decades. The amount and complexity of data require growing sophistication in data analysis, data management, and data provision targeted at a growing research community. In order to efficiently manage and facilitate the reuse of research data and to provide stable and long-term access, sustainable research data solutions are needed. We here present a prototype for structured storage, management, and visualisation of planetary research data and discuss the particular benefits, as well as challenges of such an information system for data management, for establishing data references by cross-linking information, and for improving the visibility of data products. The prototype is a co-development of two research institutes of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and is based on two components: the Earth Observation Center (EOC) Geoservice, which constitutes an infrastructure providing data storage and management capabilities, as well as an interface compliant with collaborative and web-based data access services, and the Environmental and Crisis Information Systems (UKIS), a framework for the implementation of geoscientific web applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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30 pages, 13341 KiB  
Article
Dependence of the Hydration of the Lunar Surface on the Concentrations of TiO2, Plagioclase, and Spinel
by Marcel Hess, Christian Wöhler, Alexey A. Berezhnoy, Janice L. Bishop and Vladislav V. Shevchenko
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(1), 47; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14010047 - 23 Dec 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2555
Abstract
We investigate the interrelation between the hydration of the lunar regolith and the mineral composition of the surface of the Moon with respect to the concentrations of plagioclase, TiO2 (highly correlated with the oxide mineral ilmenite), and Mg-spinel. The spectral properties of [...] Read more.
We investigate the interrelation between the hydration of the lunar regolith and the mineral composition of the surface of the Moon with respect to the concentrations of plagioclase, TiO2 (highly correlated with the oxide mineral ilmenite), and Mg-spinel. The spectral properties of lunar regions with a low concentration of plagioclase or a high concentration of TiO2 or Mg-spinel show a significant reduction in hydration at lunar midday compared to other compositions. This suggests that these oxide minerals contain less of the strongly bound OH component, which is not removed at lunar midday. The time-of-day-dependent variation of the 3 μm band depth is greater in TiO2-rich areas compared to other mare regions. The TiO2-rich regions therefore appear to have a strong tendency to adsorb solar wind-induced hydrogen into binding states of low energy that can more readily desorb and readsorb OH/H2O on a daily basis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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50 pages, 912 KiB  
Article
Uncertainty Introduced by Darkening Agents in the Lunar Regolith: An Unmixing Perspective
by Marcel Hess, Thorsten Wilhelm, Christian Wöhler and Kay Wohlfarth
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(22), 4702; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13224702 - 21 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1701
Abstract
On the Moon, in the near infrared wavelength range, spectral diagnostic features such as the 1-μm and 2-μm absorption bands can be used to estimate abundances of the constituent minerals. However, there are several factors that can darken the [...] Read more.
On the Moon, in the near infrared wavelength range, spectral diagnostic features such as the 1-μm and 2-μm absorption bands can be used to estimate abundances of the constituent minerals. However, there are several factors that can darken the overall spectrum and dampen the absorption bands. Namely, (1) space weathering, (2) grain size, (3) porosity, and (4) mineral darkening agents such as ilmenite have similar effects on the measured spectrum. This makes spectral unmixing on the Moon a particularly challenging task. Here, we try to model the influence of space weathering and mineral darkening agents and infer the uncertainties introduced by these factors using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. Laboratory and synthetic mixtures can successfully be characterized by this approach. We find that the abundance of ilmenite, plagioclase, clino-pyroxenes and olivine cannot be inferred accurately without additional knowledge for very mature spectra. The Bayesian approach to spectral unmixing enables us to include prior knowledge in the problem without imposing hard constraints. Other data sources, such as gamma-ray spectroscopy, can contribute valuable information about the elemental abundances. We here find that setting a prior on TiO2 and Al2O3 can mitigate many of the uncertainties, but large uncertainties still remain for dark mature lunar spectra. This illustrates that spectral unmixing on the Moon is an ill posed problem and that probabilistic methods are important tools that provide information about the uncertainties, that, in turn, help to interpret the results and their reliability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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22 pages, 15387 KiB  
Article
High Resolution Apparent Thermal Inertia Mapping on Mars
by Marta Ciazela, Jakub Ciazela and Bartosz Pieterek
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(18), 3692; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13183692 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2634
Abstract
Thermal inertia, which represents the resistance to change in temperature of the upper few centimeters of the surface, provides information to help understand the surficial geology and recent processes that are potentially still active today. It cannot be directly measured on Mars and [...] Read more.
Thermal inertia, which represents the resistance to change in temperature of the upper few centimeters of the surface, provides information to help understand the surficial geology and recent processes that are potentially still active today. It cannot be directly measured on Mars and is therefore usually modelled. We present a new analytical method based on Apparent Thermal Inertia (ATI), a thermal inertia proxy. Calculating ATI requires readily available input data: temperature, incidence angle, visible dust opacity, and a digital elevation model. Because of the high spatial resolution, the method can be used on sloping terrains, which makes possible thermal mapping using THEMIS in nearly any area of Mars. Comparison with results obtained by other approaches using modeled data shows similarity in flat areas and illustrates the significant influence of slope and aspect on albedo and diurnal temperature differences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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20 pages, 9337 KiB  
Article
Geologic Mapping and Age Determinations of Tsiolkovskiy Crater
by Gloria Tognon, Riccardo Pozzobon, Matteo Massironi and Sabrina Ferrari
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(18), 3619; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13183619 - 10 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2199
Abstract
Tsiolkovskiy is a ~200 km diameter crater presenting one of the few mare deposits of the lunar far side. In this work, we perform a geological study of the crater by means of morpho-stratigraphic and color-based spectral mappings, and a detailed crater counting [...] Read more.
Tsiolkovskiy is a ~200 km diameter crater presenting one of the few mare deposits of the lunar far side. In this work, we perform a geological study of the crater by means of morpho-stratigraphic and color-based spectral mappings, and a detailed crater counting age determination. The work aims at characterizing the surface morphology and compositional variation observed from orbital data including the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera and Clementine UVVIS Warped Color Ratio mosaics, and attempts a reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the Tsiolkovskiy crater through both relative and absolute model age determinations. The results show a clear correlation between the geologic and spectral units and an asymmetric distribution of these units reflecting the oblique impact origin of the crater. Crater counts performed using the spectral units identified on the smooth crater floor returned distinct age ranges, suggesting the occurrence of at least three different igneous events, generating units characterized by particular compositions and/or degree of maturity. This work demonstrates the scientific value of Tsiolkovskiy crater for a better understanding of the volcanic evolution of the Moon and, in particular, of its far side. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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43 pages, 4142 KiB  
Article
Triton: Topography and Geology of a Probable Ocean World with Comparison to Pluto and Charon
by Paul M. Schenk, Chloe B. Beddingfield, Tanguy Bertrand, Carver Bierson, Ross Beyer, Veronica J. Bray, Dale Cruikshank, William M. Grundy, Candice Hansen, Jason Hofgartner, Emily Martin, William B. McKinnon, Jeffrey M. Moore, Stuart Robbins, Kirby D. Runyon, Kelsi N. Singer, John Spencer, S. Alan Stern and Ted Stryk
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(17), 3476; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13173476 - 01 Sep 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6099
Abstract
The topography of Neptune’s large icy moon Triton could reveal important clues to its internal evolution, but has been difficult to determine. New global digital color maps for Triton have been produced as well as topographic data for <40% of the surface using [...] Read more.
The topography of Neptune’s large icy moon Triton could reveal important clues to its internal evolution, but has been difficult to determine. New global digital color maps for Triton have been produced as well as topographic data for <40% of the surface using stereogrammetry and photoclinometry. Triton is most likely a captured Kuiper Belt dwarf planet, similar though slightly larger in size and density to Pluto, and a likely ocean moon that exhibited plume activity during Voyager 2′s visit in 1989. No surface features or regional deviations of greater than ±1 km amplitude are found. Volatile ices in the southern terrains may take the form of extended lobate deposits 300–500 km across as well as dispersed bright materials that appear to embay local topography. Limb hazes may correlate with these deposits, indicating possible surface–atmosphere exchange. Triton’s topography contrasts with high relief up to 6 km observed by New Horizons on Pluto. Low relief of (cryo)volcanic features on Triton contrasts with high-standing massifs on Pluto, implying different viscosity materials. Solid-state convection occurs on both and at similar horizontal scales but in very different materials. Triton’s low relief is consistent with evolution of an ice shell subjected to high heat flow levels and may strengthen the case of an internal ocean on this active body. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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19 pages, 7552 KiB  
Article
Crater Detection and Recognition Method for Pose Estimation
by Zihao Chen and Jie Jiang
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(17), 3467; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13173467 - 01 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2769
Abstract
A crater detection and recognition algorithm is the key to pose estimation based on craters. Due to the changing viewing angle and varying height, the crater is imaged as an ellipse and the scale changes in the landing camera. In this paper, a [...] Read more.
A crater detection and recognition algorithm is the key to pose estimation based on craters. Due to the changing viewing angle and varying height, the crater is imaged as an ellipse and the scale changes in the landing camera. In this paper, a robust and efficient crater detection and recognition algorithm for fusing the information of sequence images for pose estimation is designed, which can be used in both flying in orbit around and landing phases. Our method consists of two stages: stage 1 for crater detection and stage 2 for crater recognition. In stage 1, a single-stage network with dense anchor points (dense point crater detection network, DPCDN) is conducive to dealing with multi-scale craters, especially small and dense crater scenes. The fast feature-extraction layer (FEL) of the network improves detection speed and reduces network parameters without losing accuracy. We comprehensively evaluate this method and present state-of-art detection performance on a Mars crater dataset. In stage 2, taking the encoded features and intersection over union (IOU) of craters as weights, we solve the weighted bipartite graph matching problem, which is matching craters in the image with the previously identified craters and the pre-established craters database. The former is called “frame-frame match”, or FFM, and the latter is called “frame-database match”, or FDM. Combining the FFM with FDM, the recognition speed is enabled to achieve real-time on the CPU (25 FPS) and the average recognition precision is 98.5%. Finally, the recognition result is used to estimate the pose using the perspective-n-point (PnP) algorithm and results show that the root mean square error (RMSE) of trajectories is less than 10 m and the angle error is less than 1.5 degrees. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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27 pages, 7364 KiB  
Article
Rapid Single Image-Based DTM Estimation from ExoMars TGO CaSSIS Images Using Generative Adversarial U-Nets
by Yu Tao, Siting Xiong, Susan J. Conway, Jan-Peter Muller, Anthony Guimpier, Peter Fawdon, Nicolas Thomas and Gabriele Cremonese
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(15), 2877; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13152877 - 22 Jul 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2721
Abstract
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, [...] Read more.
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. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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21 pages, 17504 KiB  
Article
Semi-Supervised Deep Learning for Lunar Crater Detection Using CE-2 DOM
by Sudong Zang, Lingli Mu, Lina Xian and Wei Zhang
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(14), 2819; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13142819 - 18 Jul 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3193
Abstract
Lunar craters are very important for estimating the geological age of the Moon, studying the evolution of the Moon, and for landing site selection. Due to a lack of labeled samples, processing times due to high-resolution imagery, the small number of suitable detection [...] Read more.
Lunar craters are very important for estimating the geological age of the Moon, studying the evolution of the Moon, and for landing site selection. Due to a lack of labeled samples, processing times due to high-resolution imagery, the small number of suitable detection models, and the influence of solar illumination, Crater Detection Algorithms (CDAs) based on Digital Orthophoto Maps (DOMs) have not yet been well-developed. In this paper, a large number of training data are labeled manually in the Highland and Maria regions, using the Chang’E-2 (CE-2) DOM; however, the labeled data cannot cover all kinds of crater types. To solve the problem of small crater detection, a new crater detection model (Crater R-CNN) is proposed, which can effectively extract the spatial and semantic information of craters from DOM data. As incomplete labeled samples are not conducive for model training, the Two-Teachers Self-training with Noise (TTSN) method is used to train the Crater R-CNN model, thus constructing a new model—called Crater R-CNN with TTSN—which can achieve state-of-the-art performance. To evaluate the accuracy of the model, three other detection models (Mask R-CNN, no-Mask R-CNN, and Crater R-CNN) based on semi-supervised deep learning were used to detect craters in the Highland and Maria regions. The results indicate that Crater R-CNN with TTSN achieved the highest precision (of 91.4% and 88.5%, respectively) in the Highland and Maria regions, even obtaining the highest recall and F1 score. Compared with Mask R-CNN, no-Mask R-CNN, and Crater R-CNN, Crater R-CNN with TTSN had strong robustness and better generalization ability for crater detection within 1 km in different terrains, making it possible to detect small craters with high accuracy when using DOM data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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22 pages, 46802 KiB  
Article
Spatial Autocorrelation of Martian Surface Temperature and Its Spatio-Temporal Relationships with Near-Surface Environmental Factors across China’s Tianwen-1 Landing Zone
by Yaowen Luo, Jianguo Yan, Fei Li and Bo Li
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(11), 2206; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13112206 - 04 Jun 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3123
Abstract
Variations in the Martian surface temperature indicate patterns of surface energy exchange. The Martian surface temperature at a location is similar to those in adjacent locations; but, an understanding of temperature clusters in multiple locations will deepen our knowledge of planetary surface processes [...] Read more.
Variations in the Martian surface temperature indicate patterns of surface energy exchange. The Martian surface temperature at a location is similar to those in adjacent locations; but, an understanding of temperature clusters in multiple locations will deepen our knowledge of planetary surface processes overall. The spatial coherence of the Martian surface temperature (ST) at different locations, the spatio-temporal variations in temperature clusters, and the relationships between ST and near-surface environmental factors, however, are not well understood. To fill this gap, we studied an area to the south of Utopia Planitia, the landing zone for the Tianwen-1 Mars Exploration mission. The spatial aggregation of three Martian ST indicators (STIs), including sol average temperature (SAT), sol temperature range (STR), and sol-to-sol temperature change (STC), were quantitatively evaluated using clustering analysis at the global and local scale. In addition, we also detected the spatio-temporal variations in relations between the STIs and seven potential driving factors, including thermal inertia, albedo, dust, elevation, slope, and zonal and meridional winds, across the study area during 81 to 111 sols in Martian years 29–32, based on a geographically and temporally weighted regression model (GTWR). We found that the SAT, STR, and STC were not randomly distributed over space but exhibited signs of significant spatial aggregation. Thermal inertia and dust made the greatest contribution to the fluctuation in STIs over time. The local surface temperature was likely affected by the slope, wind, and local circulation, especially in the area with a large slope and low thermal inertia. In addition, the sheltering effects of the mountains at the edge of the basin likely contributed to the spatial difference in SAT and STR. These results are a reminder that the spatio-temporal variation in the local driving factors associated with Martian surface temperature cannot be neglected. Our research contributes to the understanding of the surface environment that might compromise the survival and operations of the Tianwen-1 lander on the Martian surface. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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26 pages, 14994 KiB  
Article
Seamless 3D Image Mapping and Mosaicing of Valles Marineris on Mars Using Orbital HRSC Stereo and Panchromatic Images
by Yu Tao, Greg Michael, Jan-Peter Muller, Susan J. Conway and Alfiah R. D. Putri
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(7), 1385; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13071385 - 03 Apr 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3434
Abstract
A seamless mosaic has been constructed including a 3D terrain model at 50 m grid-spacing and a corresponding terrain-corrected orthoimage at 12.5 m using a novel approach applied to ESA Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera orbital (HRSC) images of Mars. This method [...] Read more.
A seamless mosaic has been constructed including a 3D terrain model at 50 m grid-spacing and a corresponding terrain-corrected orthoimage at 12.5 m using a novel approach applied to ESA Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera orbital (HRSC) images of Mars. This method consists of blending and harmonising 3D models and normalising reflectance to a global albedo map. Eleven HRSC image sets were processed to Digital Terrain Models (DTM) based on an opensource stereo photogrammetric package called CASP-GO and merged with 71 published DTMs from the HRSC team. In order to achieve high quality and complete DTM coverage, a new method was developed to combine data derived from different stereo matching approaches to achieve a uniform outcome. This new approach was developed for high-accuracy data fusion of different DTMs at dissimilar grid-spacing and provenance which employs joint 3D and image co-registration, and B-spline fitting against the global Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) standard reference. Each HRSC strip is normalised against a global albedo map to ensure that the very different lighting conditions could be corrected and resulting in a tiled set of seamless mosaics. The final 3D terrain model is compared against the MOLA height reference and the results shown of this intercomparison both in altitude and planum. Visualisation and access mechanisms to the final open access products are described. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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33 pages, 13332 KiB  
Article
An Integrated Geologic Map of the Rembrandt Basin, on Mercury, as a Starting Point for Stratigraphic Analysis
by Andrea Semenzato, Matteo Massironi, Sabrina Ferrari, Valentina Galluzzi, David A. Rothery, David L. Pegg, Riccardo Pozzobon and Simone Marchi
Remote Sens. 2020, 12(19), 3213; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs12193213 - 01 Oct 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3825
Abstract
Planetary geologic maps are usually carried out following a morpho-stratigraphic approach where morphology is the dominant character guiding the remote sensing image interpretation. On the other hand, on Earth a more comprehensive stratigraphic approach is preferred, using lithology, overlapping relationship, genetic source, and [...] Read more.
Planetary geologic maps are usually carried out following a morpho-stratigraphic approach where morphology is the dominant character guiding the remote sensing image interpretation. On the other hand, on Earth a more comprehensive stratigraphic approach is preferred, using lithology, overlapping relationship, genetic source, and ages as the main discriminants among the different geologic units. In this work we produced two different geologic maps of the Rembrandt basin of Mercury, following the morpho-stratigraphic methods and symbology adopted by many authors while mapping quadrangles on Mercury, and an integrated geo-stratigraphic approach, where geologic units were distinguished also on the basis of their false colors (derived by multispectral image data of the NASA MESSENGER mission), subsurface stratigraphic position (inferred by crater excavation) and model ages. We distinguished two different resurfacing events within the Rembrandt basin, after the impact event, and four other smooth plains units outside the basin itself. This provided the basis to estimate thicknesses, volumes, and ages of the smooth plains inside the basin. Results from thickness estimates obtained using different methodologies confirm the presence of two distinct volcanic events inside the Rembrandt basin, with a total thickness ranging between 1–1.5 km. Furthermore, model ages suggest that the volcanic infilling of the Rembrandt basin is among the ones that extended well into the mid-Calorian period, when Mercury’s effusive volcanism was previously thought to be largely over. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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13 pages, 13489 KiB  
Technical Note
Depth to Diameter Analysis on Small Simple Craters at the Lunar South Pole—Possible Implications for Ice Harboring
by Ramiro Marco Figuera, Christian Riedel, Angelo Pio Rossi and Vikram Unnithan
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(3), 450; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14030450 - 18 Jan 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2112
Abstract
In this paper, we present a study comparing the depth to diameter (d/D) ratio of small simple craters (200–1000 m) of an area between −88.5° to −90° latitude at the lunar south pole containing Permanent Shadowed Regions (PSRs) versus craters without PSRs. As [...] Read more.
In this paper, we present a study comparing the depth to diameter (d/D) ratio of small simple craters (200–1000 m) of an area between −88.5° to −90° latitude at the lunar south pole containing Permanent Shadowed Regions (PSRs) versus craters without PSRs. As PSRs can reach temperatures of 110 K and are capable of harboring volatiles, especially water ice, we analyzed the relationship of depth versus diameter ratios and its possible implications for harboring water ice. Variations in the d/D ratios can also be caused by other processes such as degradation, isostatic adjustment, or differences in surface properties. The conducted d/D ratio analysis suggests that a differentiation between craters containing PSRs versus craters without PSRs occurs. Thus, a possible direct relation between d/D ratio, PSRs, and water ice harboring might exist. Our results suggest that differences in the target’s surface properties may explain the obtained results. The resulting d/D ratios of craters with PSRs can help to select target areas for future In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) missions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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18 pages, 2437 KiB  
Technical Note
Wavelength-Dependent Seeing Systematically Changes the Normalized Slope of Telescopic Reflectance Spectra of Mercury
by Kay Wohlfarth and Christian Wöhler
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(2), 405; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14020405 - 16 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1508
Abstract
Telescopic observations of Mercury consistently report systematic variations of the normalized spectral slope of visible-to-near-infrared reflectance spectra. This effect was previously assumed to be a photometric property of the regolith, but it is not yet fully understood. After the MESSENGER mission, detailed global [...] Read more.
Telescopic observations of Mercury consistently report systematic variations of the normalized spectral slope of visible-to-near-infrared reflectance spectra. This effect was previously assumed to be a photometric property of the regolith, but it is not yet fully understood. After the MESSENGER mission, detailed global spectral maps of Mercury are available that better constrain Mercury’s photometry. So far, wavelength-dependent seeing has not been considered in the context of telescopic observations of Mercury. This study investigates the effect of wavelength-dependent seeing on systematic variations of Mercury’s normalized spectral reflectance slope. Therefore, we simulate the disk of Mercury for an idealized scenario, as seen by four different telescopic campaigns using the Hapke and the Kaasalainen–Shkuratov photometric model, the MDIS global mosaic, and a simple wavelength-dependent seeing model. The simulation results are compared with the observations of previous telescopic studies. We find that wavelength-dependent seeing affects the normalized spectral slope in several ways. The normalized slopes are enhanced near the limb, decrease toward the rim of the seeing disk, and even become negative. The decrease of the normalized spectral slope is consistent with previous observations. However, previous studies have associated the spectral slope variations with photometric effects that correlate with the emission angle. Our study suggests that wavelength-dependent seeing may cause these systematic variations. The combined reflectance and seeing model can also account for slope variations between different measurement campaigns. We report no qualitative differences between results based on the Hapke model or the Kaasalainen–Shkuratov model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cartography of the Solar System: Remote Sensing beyond Earth)
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