Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter pulse width measurements and footprint-scale roughness

Abstract

The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) measured the pulse width and energy of altimetric laser returns during the course of two Mars years of operations. As secondary science objectives, MOLA obtains the footprint-scale roughness and the bidirectional reflectivity of Mars. MOLA underwent extensive preflight calibration and pulse measurements were monitored continuously in flight, but anomalous values of roughness have been inferred. A calibration of pulse widths using inflight data yields a slope-corrected roughness over ∼75-m-diameter footprints that may be used for quantitative geomorphic surface characterization, required, for example, for landing site selection. The recalibration uses a total least-squares estimation of pulse characteristics that generalizes the method of Abshire et al. [2000]. This method, utilizing the timing at voltage threshold crossings and the area between crossings, accounts for observation errors and shows that surface roughness as small as 1 m can be resolved.