Infrared Mars: Activities at the Mars Space Flight Facility

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Infrared Mars Activities at the Mars Space
Flight Facility

• Joshua L. Bandfield
• Arizona State University

THEMIS infrared image of the Martian limb
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Spacecraft Instruments

• TES on Mars Global Surveyor
• THEMIS on 2001 Mars Odyssey
• Mini-TES on the Mars Exploration Rovers

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Mars Global SurveyorThermal Emission
Spectrometer (TES)

• 143 infrared colors from 6-50 mm
• 3 km resolution
• 6 spectra every two seconds almost continuously
  from 1997-2005

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TES Data
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Mars OdysseyThermal Emission Imaging System
(THEMIS)

• 9 infrared colors from 7-15 mm wavelengths
• 100 m resolution
• Also 18 m resolution visible camera

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THEMIS Data
Band 654 Radiance
Surface Unit Emissivity
1.00
0.98
0.96
0.94
0.92
Emissivity
0.90
0.88
0.86
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Wavelength (mm)
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Mars Exploration Rovers mini-TES

• 167 infrared colors from 5-28 mm
• 20 mrad resolution (several cm and larger)
• Similar to the TES instrument

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Mini-TES Data
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Science Activities

• Three basic questions we try to answer
• What is the composition of the Martian surface?
• What are the physical properties of
  rocky/sandy/dusty surfaces and ices?
• How does the Martian atmosphere work?

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Spectroscopy

• Most rock forming minerals have distinctive
  absorptions (colors) in the thermal infrared

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Hematite

• Mars spectral fingerprint from TES matches
  laboratory data of hematite in Sinus Meridiani
• Hematite forms in water!

TES Data
Laboratory Hematite
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• The discovery of hematite led to the selection of
  the primary Mars Exploration Rover landing site

TES Hematite Concentrations
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TES and THEMIS show that Mars has a variety of
igneous compositions
THEMIS Band 875 DCS
Granite in Syrtis Major
Basalt and dacite in Nili Patera
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THEMIS Data from the Southern Highlands
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Looking at Mars with Different THEMIS Images
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Why are nighttime temperatures useful?
Dusty
Sandy
Rocky

• Determining surface properties using thermophysics

Rocky
Sandy
THEMIS Night IR
Dusty
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Mapping Water Ice

• By observing seasonal temperatures we can sense
  buried water ice

Water Ice Depth
Shallow
Deep
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Atmospheric Monitoring
NASA/JPL/MSSS
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NASA/JPL/MSSS
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Temperatures and Season
NASA/JPL/GSFC
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E/PO Activities

• Mars Student Imaging Project