Mathematics
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufm.p23c0075w&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #P23C-0075
Mathematics
5410 Composition (1060, 3672), 5464 Remote Sensing, 5470 Surface Materials And Properties, 6094 Instruments And Techniques, 6225 Mars
Scientific paper
The Martian landscape was studied by two high-school students as part of the University of New Hampshire's Project SMART (Science and Mathematics Achievement through Research Training) outreach effort. They used infrared data provided by the OMEGA sensor on Mars Express for a portion of Terra Meridiani (orbit 485). The OMEGA infrared (IR) spectral properties of surface mineral composition were compared to lab IR spectral data of rocks and minerals believed to be found on Mars. Spectral plots (Selection Graphs), cluster analysis, and false-color images were analyzed using NASA's freeware software MultiSpec to process the OMEGA data. By examining and comparing the two sets of IR spectral data from OMEGA (MultiSpec) and the lab samples using VIRIS (Visible Infrared Intelligent Spectroradiometer) data, and by reviewing the literature, conclusions were drawn regarding the types of minerals present on this part of Mars. Some minerals (e.g. calcites and sulfates) found on Mars are known to exhibit IR spectral properties indicative of water (absorptions at 1.43 and 1.90μm). Our analysis of the OMEGA data identified such water-absorption features, a strong indication of the presence of hydrated minerals and possibly clays. Some mineral spectral properties identified by the VIRIS are inconclusive when compared with the OMEGA data and their presence on Mars is not verified. After performing a 10-class clustering/unsupervised classification, different areas of Terra Meridiani were identified, such as cratered terrain covered with Basalt (and some associated minerals) and low-lying plains bearing hydrated or poly-hydrated minerals. This research supports the view that liquid water was once present on Mars. We present these results as an example of what can be done with this data set and publicly available analysis tool. While we recognize that the above results do not constitute new information, they were obtained using only a single interval of OMEGA data. We present this as a preliminary example of what can be done by high school students as part of a structured outreach effort using freeware and public data from the planetary community.
Rock B.
Smith Walter C.
Vaillancourt M.
Wright-Eaton S.
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