CARTOGRAPHIC APPLICATIONS DERIVED FROM THE
ANALYSIS OF SPACECRAFT DATA FROM MARS
James R. Zimbelman
Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum,
MRC 315, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, U.S.A.
zimbelmanj@si.edu
Several active spacecraft at the planet Mars have returned a wide variety of data
that are amenable to mapping projects. Research projects supported by grants from several
programs within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) make use of
the new data in a variety of applications. Several on-going (or recently completed)
research projects can be used to illustrate the cartographic potential of various imaging and
geophysical data sets obtained from several NASA spacecraft at Mars.
A research grant supported by the Mars Data Analysis Program of NASA involves
the study of wind-related (aeolian) bedforms with wavelengths of from 10 to 100 meters.
The science question to be addressed is the use of spacecraft data to assess whether these
wind-deposited features are small sand dunes or large ripples (distinctly different processes
are associated with the formation of these two types of features). Aeolian bedforms with
wavelengths <100 meters are found in and around topographic obstacles throughout the
equatorial and mid-latitudes of Mars [1]. Images obtained from the two Mars Exploration
Rovers (MERs) [2-4] and from various cameras on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) [56], Mars Odyssey [7-8], and most recently the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) [9-10]
reveal an abundance of aeolian bedforms over a considerable range of scales, providing
insights into the formation processes that produced these features. Figure 1 shows an
example of these small aeolian bedforms as revealed in the high resolution images
obtained by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the MGS spacecraft. Figure 2
Figure 2. The first full-resolution (25 cm/pixel) image obtained by the HiRISE camera on
the MRO spacecraft revealed an abundance of aeolian bedforms. Red square indicates the
location of the full-resolution inset shown at right. PIA08792 (from [11]).
illustrates the improvement in resolution represented by the High Resolution Imaging
Science Experiment (HiRISE) that is now operational on the MRO spacecraft, and how
these data will improve our ability to observe and study aeolian landforms with
wavelengths <100 meters.
A project supported by the Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program of NASA
involved the study of long lava flows on Mars, with an emphasis on the morphology of the
flow margins, makes use of images and geophysical information obtained from MGS,
Mars Odyssey, and MRO instruments. Another PGG-supported project focused on the
enigmatic Medusae Fossae Formation materials that blanket nearly one-third of the
equatorial latitudes of Mars; these materials were investigated through the production of a
geologic map that utilized images and topographic data from the MGS and Mars Odyssey
spacecraft.
A recently concluded project funded by the Mars Fundamental Research Program
of NASA focused on an evaluation of hypothesized standing bodies of water on Mars by
searching for shoreline beach ridges in images and topographic data from the MGS and
Mars Odyssey spacecraft. In each of these examples, the analysis depended on the use of
map-projected images and geophysical data, many of which can result in cartographic
products. The ready accessibility of all of these data types via the internet [4, 6, 8, 10-13]
means that cartographic products will play an increasing role in the on-going investigations
of Mars, as well as for many other planetary objects [e.g., 11, 13].
References:
[1] S.A. Wilson and J.R. Zimbelman, 2004, The latitude-dependent nature and physical
characteristics of transverse aeolian ridges on Mars, J.Geophys. Res. – Planets 109,
E10003, doi: 10.1029/2004JE002247.
[2] R. Greeley et al.,, 2004, Wind-related processes detected by the Spirit Rover at Gusev
Crater, Mars, Science 305, no. 5685, 810-813, doi: 10.1126/science.1100108.
[3] R. Sullivan et al., 2005, Aeolian processes at the Mars Exploration Rover Meridiani
Planum landing site, Nature 436, 58-61, doi: 10.1038/nature03641.
[4] http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home.index.html
[5] M.C. Malin et al., 1998, Early views of the Martian surface from the Mars Orbiter
Camera of Mars, Science 279, no. 5357, 1681-1685, doi: 10.1126/science.279.5357.1681.
[6] http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/
[7] P.R. Christensen et al., 2004, The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) for
the Mars 2001 Odyssey mission, Space Science Reviews 110, 85-130.
[8] http://themis.asu.edu/mars-bin/webmap.pl
[9] A.S. McEwen et al., in press, MRO’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment
(HiRISE), J. Geophys. Res. – Planets. (should be published in 2007)
[10] http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/HiROC
[11] http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html
[12] http://www.google.com/mars
[13] http://pdsmaps.wr.usgs.gov