Although not the prime focus of the InSight mission, the near-surface geology and physical properties investigations provide critical information for both placing the instruments (seismometer and heat flow probe with mole) on the surface and for understanding the nature of the shallow subsurface and its effect on recorded seismic waves. Two color cameras on the lander will obtain multiple stereo images of the surface and its interaction with the spacecraft. Images will be used to identify the geologic materials and features present, quantify their areal coverage, help determine the basic geologic evolution of the area, and provide ground truth for orbital remote sensing data. A radiometer will measure the hourly temperature of the surface in two spots, which will determine the thermal inertia of the surface materials present and their particle size and/or cohesion. Continuous measurements of wind speed and direction offer a unique opportunity to correlate dust devils and high winds with eolian changes imaged at the surface and to determine the threshold friction wind stress for grain motion on Mars. During the first two weeks after landing, these investigations will support the selection of instrument placement locations that are relatively smooth, flat, free of small rocks and load bearing. Soil mechanics parameters and elastic properties of near surface materials will be determined from mole penetration and thermal conductivity measurements from the surface to 3–5 m depth, the measurement of seismic waves during mole hammering, passive monitoring of seismic waves, and experiments with the arm and scoop of the lander (indentations, scraping and trenching). These investigations will determine and test the presence and mechanical properties of the expected 3–17 m thick fragmented regolith (and underlying fractured material) built up by impact and eolian processes on top of Hesperian lava flows and determine its seismic properties for the seismic investigation of Mars’ interior.

/pdf/geology-and-physical-properties-investigations-by-the-5c8h9oqdwb.pdf

Geology and Physical Properties Investigations by the InSight Lander

Modern Mars' geomorphological activity, driven by wind, frost, and gravity

The SIMBIO-SYS (Spectrometer and Imaging for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem) is a complex instrument suite part of the scientific payload of the Mercury Planetary Orbiter for the BepiColombo mission, the last of the cornerstone missions of the European Space Agency (ESA) Horizon + science program. The SIMBIO-SYS instrument will provide all the science imaging capability of the BepiColombo MPO spacecraft. It consists of three channels: the STereo imaging Channel (STC), with a broad spectral band in the 400-950 nm range and medium spatial resolution (at best 58 m/px), that will provide Digital Terrain Model of the entire surface of the planet with an accuracy better than 80 m; the High Resolution Imaging Channel (HRIC), with broad spectral bands in the 400-900 nm range and high spatial resolution (at best 6 m/px), that will provide high-resolution images of about 20% of the surface, and the Visible and near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging channel (VIHI), with high spectral resolution (6 nm at finest) in the 400-2000 nm range and spatial resolution reaching 120 m/px, it will provide global coverage at 480 m/px with the spectral information, assuming the first orbit around Mercury with periherm at 480 km from the surface. SIMBIO-SYS will provide high-resolution images, the Digital Terrain Model of the entire surface, and the surface composition using a wide spectral range, as for instance detecting sulphides or material derived by sulphur and carbon oxidation, at resolutions and coverage higher than the MESSENGER mission with a full co-alignment of the three channels. All the data that will be acquired will allow to cover a wide range of scientific objectives, from the surface processes and cartography up to the internal structure, contributing to the libration experiment, and the surface-exosphere interaction. The global 3D and spectral mapping will allow to study the morphology and the composition of any surface feature. In this work, we describe the on-ground calibrations and the results obtained, providing an important overview of the instrument performances. The calibrations have been performed at channel and at system levels, utilizing specific setup in most of the cases realized for SIMBIO-SYS. In the case of the stereo camera (STC), it has been necessary to have a validation of the new stereo concept adopted, based on the push-frame. This work describes also the results of the Near-Earth Commissioning Phase performed few weeks after the Launch (20 October 2018). According to the calibration results and the first commissioning the three channels are working very well.

/pdf/simbio-sys-scientific-cameras-and-spectrometer-for-the-5dwyno32v2.pdf

SIMBIO-SYS: Scientific Cameras and Spectrometer for the BepiColombo Mission

About 15 areas were observed in the equatorial regions of Mars by the infrared spectrometers IRS (Mariner 6 and 7) and ISM (Phobos-2). The comparison between the spectra shows a remarkable consistency between two data sets acquired 20 years apart and calibrated independently. This similarity demonstrates the accuracy of ISM calibration above 2 μm, except for a possible stray light contribution above 2.6 μm, on the order of ∼1–2% of the solar flux at 2.7 μm. Most differences in spectral shapes are related to differences in spectral/spatial resolution and viewing geometries. No important variation in surface properties is detected, except for a spot in southern Arabia Terra which has a much deeper hydration feature in IRS spectra; differences in viewing geometries and spatial resolutions do not seem to account for this difference that could result from shifting or dehydration of surface materials. Composite spectra of several types of bright and dark materials are computed by modeling the thermal emission and are completed with telescopic spectra in the visible range. Modeled reflectance in the 3.0–5.7 μm range is consistent with basalts and palagonites. The bright regions and analog palagonite spectra are different from hematite in this range, but resemble several phyllosilicates. We infer that (1) although hematite dominates the spectra in the 0.4- to 2.5-μm range, the silicate-clay host is spectrally active beyond 3 μm and can be identified from this domain; (2) phyllosilicates such as montmorillonite or smectite may be abundant components of the martian soils, although the domain below 3 μm lacks the characteristic features of the most usual terrestrial clay minerals.

New Composite Spectra of Mars, 0.4-5.7 μm

C. E. Newman, H. Kahanpaa, M. I. Richardson, G. M. Martinez, A. Vicente‐Retortillo, M. T. Lemmon

MarsWRF Convective Vortex and Dust Devil Predictions for Gale Crater Over 3 Mars Years and Comparison With MSL-REMS Observations

The Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) is the main imaging system onboard the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) which was launched on 14 March 2016. CaSSIS is intended to acquire moderately high resolution (4.6 m/pixel) targeted images of Mars at a rate of 10–20 images per day from a roughly circular orbit 400 km above the surface. Each image can be acquired in up to four colours and stereo capability is foreseen by the use of a novel rotation mechanism. A typical product from one image acquisition will be a $9.5~\mbox{km} \times {\sim}45~\mbox{km}$
 swath in full colour and stereo in one over-flight of the target thereby reducing atmospheric influences inherent in stereo and colour products from previous high resolution imagers. This paper describes the instrument including several novel technical solutions required to achieve the scientific requirements.

The Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) for the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

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The Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) for the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter