Publications

In order to highlight this project to the extraterrestrial mapping community, we repeat here our earlier abstract [1], with a corrected Figure 2. A report describing the Unified Lunar Control Network 2005 and the files associated with that network is now available as an on-line USGS Open-File Report [2] at the location http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1367/. A “Readme” file describes the...

Saturn's giant, cloud-covered satellite Titan, larger than the planet Mercury, is the last major piece of unexplored real estate in the Solar system. The NASA/ESA Cassini spacecraft carries a variety of instruments that are being used to map the surface of Titan, including optical instruments that provide a global synoptic view and spectroscopic information, and microwave imager (Cassini...

There is an urgent, time-critical need to begin tying together (geodetically controlling) all past and current lunar data, and to establish the cartographic foundation needed to make maximum use of future planned lunar data. Proper control of lunar datails required to properly support both lunar science and exploration, and at present we know of no plans within NASA to fund such work...

Data from the Cassini-Huygens mission, in particular images from the Cassini Titan Radar Mapper (RADAR) have revealed Saturn's giant moon, Titan to be a world whose geologic diversity and complexity approach those of the Earth itself. Estimates of topographic relief are, naturally, of enormous interest in the effort to understand the nature of Titan's surface features and quantify the...

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC, [1]) is part of the orbiter payload on the Mars Express (MEX) mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), orbiting the Red Planet in a highly elliptical orbit since January 2004. For the first time in planetary exploration, a camera system has especially been designed to meet the requirements of photogrammetry and cartography for mapping the...

Neutron leakage currents measured using the Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer are used to develop a two‐layer model of the distribution of hydrogen (here parameterized as water‐equivalent hydrogen, WEH) at high northern latitudes. The WEH abundance in the upper layer, Wup, was found to range between 1% and about 5%. The maximum value of the apparent thickness, D, of this upper layer...

In 2005, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency contracted with the U.S. Geological Survey to perform assessments of the natural resources within Afghanistan. The assessments concentrate on the resources that are related to the economic development of that country. Therefore, assessments were initiated in oil and gas, coal, mineral...

We have completed the first global spatial deconvolution analysis of planetary gamma‐ray data for lunar Th abundances as measured by the Lunar Prospector Gamma‐ray Spectrometer. We tested two different spatial deconvolution techniques – Jansson's method and the Pixon method – and determined that the Pixon method provides superior performance. The final deconvolved map results in a...

Flood lavas, by definition, cover vast areas in great sheets of lava, without the construction of major edifices (e.g., Geikie, 1880; Washington, 1922; Tyrrell, 1937; Self et al., 1997). The flat terrain that flood lavas produce has led to the term “plateau volcanism” to be used as a synonym for flood volcanism. In addition, the classic erosion pattern of flood lavas leaves a series of...

The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) has been orbiting the planet Mars since January 2004 onboard the European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Express mission and delivers imagery which is being used for topographic mapping of the planet. The HRSC team has conducted a systematic inter-comparison of different alternatives for the production of high resolution digital terrain models (DTMs)...

With a dynamic atmosphere and a large supply of particulate material, the surface of Mars is heavily influenced by wind-driven, or aeolian, processes. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provides a new view of Martian geology, with the ability to see decimeter-size features. Current sand movement, and evidence for recent...

During its exploration of the Columbia Hills, the Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" encountered several similar samples that are distinctly different from Martian meteorites and known Gusev crater soils, rocks, and sediments. Occurring in a variety of contexts and locations, these "Independence class" samples are rough-textured, iron-poor (equivalent FeO ??? 4 wt%), have high Al/Si ratios...