CaltechAUTHORS
  A Caltech Library Service

Visible to near-infrared MSL/Mastcam multispectral imaging: Initial results from select high-interest science targets within Gale Crater, Mars

Wellington, Danika F. and Bell, James F., III and Johnson, Jeffrey R. and Kinch, Kjartan M. and Rice, Melissa S. and Godber, Austin and Ehlmann, Bethany L. and Fraeman, Abigail A. and Hardgrove, Craig (2017) Visible to near-infrared MSL/Mastcam multispectral imaging: Initial results from select high-interest science targets within Gale Crater, Mars. American Mineralogist, 102 (6). pp. 1202-1217. ISSN 0003-004X. doi:10.2138/am-2017-5760CCBY. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170601-123727234

[img] PDF - Published Version
Creative Commons Attribution.

25MB

Use this Persistent URL to link to this item: https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170601-123727234

Abstract

The Mastcam CCD cameras on the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover each use an 8-position filter wheel in acquiring up to 1600 × 1200 pixel images. The filter set includes a broadband near-infrared cutoff filter for RGB Bayer imaging on each camera and 12 narrow-band geology filters distributed between the two cameras, spanning the wavelength range 445–1013 nm. This wavelength region includes the relatively broad charge-transfer and crystal-field absorption bands that are most commonly due to the presence of iron-bearing minerals. To identify such spectral features, sequences of images taken with identical pointings through different filters have been calibrated to relative reflectance using pre-flight calibration coefficients and in-flight measurements of an onboard calibration target. Within the first 1000 sols of the mission, Mastcam observed a spectrally diverse set of materials displaying absorption features consistent with the presence of iron-bearing silicate, iron oxide, and iron sulfate minerals. Dust-coated surfaces as well as soils possess a strong positive reflectance slope in the visible, consistent with the presence of nanophase iron oxides, which have long been considered the dominant visible-wavelength pigmenting agent in weathered martian surface materials. Fresh surfaces, such as tailings produced by the drill tool and the interiors of rocks broken by the rover wheels, are grayer in visible wavelengths than their reddish, dust-coated surfaces but possess reflectance spectra that vary considerably between sites. To understand the mineralogical basis of observed Mastcam reflectance spectra, we focus on a subset of the multispectral data set for which additional constraints on the composition of surface materials are available from other rover instruments, with an emphasis on sample sites for which detailed mineralogy is provided by the results of CheMin X-ray diffraction analyses. We also discuss the results of coordinated observations with the ChemCam instrument, whose passive mode of operation is capable of acquiring reflectance spectra over wavelengths that considerably overlap the range spanned by the Mastcam filter set (Johnson et al. 2016). Materials that show a distinct 430 nm band in ChemCam data also are observed to have a strong near-infrared absorption band in Mastcam spectral data, consistent with the presence of a ferric sulfate mineral. Long-distance Mastcam observations targeted toward the flanks of the Gale crater central mound are in agreement with both ChemCam spectra and orbital results, and in particular exhibit the spectral features of a crystalline hematite layer identified in MRO/CRISM data. Variations observed in Mastcam multi-filter images acquired to date have shown that multispectral observations can discriminate between compositionally different materials within Gale Crater and are in qualitative agreement with mineralogies from measured samples and orbital data.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
http://dx.doi.org/10.2138/am-2017-5760CCBYDOIArticle
http://ammin.geoscienceworld.org/content/102/6/1202PublisherArticle
ORCID:
AuthorORCID
Bell, James F., III0000-0002-2006-4074
Johnson, Jeffrey R.0000-0002-5586-4901
Kinch, Kjartan M.0000-0002-4629-8880
Rice, Melissa S.0000-0002-8370-4139
Ehlmann, Bethany L.0000-0002-2745-3240
Fraeman, Abigail A.0000-0003-4017-5158
Hardgrove, Craig0000-0002-8556-6630
Additional Information:© 2017 Mineralogical Society of America. Creative Commons Attribution license. First Published on June 01, 2017. This work was supported by Mars Science Laboratory Project grants and contracts from NASA, JPL/Caltech, and Malin Space Science Systems, Inc. We heartily thank the MSL/Curiosity science and operations team, who made these results possible. The authors also acknowledge specific funding sources, as follows: the MSL Participating Scientist program (J.R. Johnson, JPL contract 1350588, and B.L. Ehlmann), the W.M. Keck Institute for Space Studies and Caltech GPS Division Texaco postdoctoral fellowships (A.A. Fraeman), the NASA Postdoctoral Program (M.S. Rice), and the Danish Council for Independent Research/Natural Sciences (K.M. Kinch, FNU Grant 12-127126). A portion of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Finally, the authors thank reviewers Edward Guiness and Jack Mustard for greatly appreciated feedback that allowed us to significantly improve upon the initial manuscript.
Group:Keck Institute for Space Studies, Astronomy Department
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)UNSPECIFIED
NASA/JPL/CaltechUNSPECIFIED
Malin Space Science Systems, Inc.UNSPECIFIED
JPL1350588
Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS)UNSPECIFIED
Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary SciencesUNSPECIFIED
NASA Postdoctoral ProgramUNSPECIFIED
Danish Council for Independent Research-Natural Sciences12-127126
Subject Keywords:Mars, multispectral imaging, Curiosity, Gale Crater
Issue or Number:6
DOI:10.2138/am-2017-5760CCBY
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20170601-123727234
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170601-123727234
Official Citation:Visible to near-infrared MSL/Mastcam multispectral imaging: Initial results from select high-interest science targets within Gale Crater, Mars Danika F. Wellington, James F. Bell, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Kjartan M. Kinch, Melissa S. Rice, Austin Godber, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Abigail A. Fraeman, Craig Hardgrove, the MSL Science Team American Mineralogist Jun 2017, 102 (6) 1202-1217; DOI: 10.2138/am-2017-5760CCBY
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:77890
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Tony Diaz
Deposited On:12 Jun 2017 16:25
Last Modified:15 Nov 2021 17:34

Repository Staff Only: item control page