Randolph L Kirk, Ph.D.
Randolph Kirk’s research interests span both geoscience and mapping of planetary bodies. He has participated in many missions to the Moon, Venus, Mars, asteroids, comets, and icy satellites. He helped direct planetary mapping at the USGS since the early 1990s, and has developed practical methods for topomapping by shape from shading and by adapting commercial stereo workstations to planetary use.
Recent Accomplishments
- In 2020, NASA's Mars 2020 rover Perseverance landed in Jezero crater at a site mapped by the Astrogeology Science Center. Perseverence was the ninth Mars lander or rover to go to a site we mapped, all of which landed successfully. (Starting in 1962, 10 Mars landings attempted without USGS mapping failed for a variety of reasons. Just days before Perseverence the Chinese landerTianwen-1 became the first such mission to succeed.) Perseverance also carried our maps onboard and used them to guide its final descent, a technological first.
- We are helping to design and caibrate the Europa Imaging System (EIS) cameras for NASA's Europa Clipper mission and to develop software and procedures for making controlled image and topographic maps. As part of this task, we invented and demonstrated a new technique for correcting distortions in frame images that are read out line-by-line so that they can be used for precision mapping.
- We have used stereo images of Mars obtained by different cameras with pixel scales differing up to 50x to assess the resolution and precision of digital topographic models obtained under real-world (Mars) conditions. We are currently using similar techniques with images of Earth’s Moon to quantify how topographic models can be improved by photoclinometry (shape from shading) techniques using one or multiple images.
Education
- Ph.D., Planetary Science, Minor in Physics, California Institute of Technology, January 1987
- M.S., Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology, June 1984
- B.S., Physics, Stanford University, June 1981
Space Mission Participation
- Member, Europa Imaging System Science Team, May 2015–Present
- Member, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter CaSSIS Science Team, August 2010–Present
- Member, LRO and Chandrayaan-1 Mini-RF Science Teams, July 2006–Present
- Member, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE Science Team, December 2001–Present
- Member, Mars Exploration Rovers Science Team, August 2000–June 2018
- Associate, Deep Space 1 MICAS Science Team, March 2000–December 2002
- Participating Scientist, NEAR MSI/NIS Team, August 1999–July 2001
- Associate, Imager for Mars Pathfinder Science Team, July 1996–August 1998
- Member, Mars Express HRSC Science Team, January 2000–March 2020
- Associate, Mars 96 HRSC/WAOSS Science Team, March 1993–December 1996
- Member, Cassini RADAR Instrument Team, December 1990–September 2018
- Magellan Guest Investigator, October 1990–September 1994
- Associate, Voyager Imaging Science Team, 1989
Working Groups
- Member, IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coords & Rotational Elements, August 2012–present
- Member, NASA Lunar Geodesy/Cartography Working Group, December 2007–present
- Member, NASA Mars Geodesy/Cartography Working Group, June 1998–present
- Member, ISPRS Working Group “Planetary Mapping & Remote Sensing”, November 1996–present
- Chair, November 2000-October 2004, Co-Chair, Nove
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 165
Nature, distribution, and origin of Titan’s Undifferentiated Plains Nature, distribution, and origin of Titan’s Undifferentiated Plains
The Undifferentiated Plains on Titan, first mapped by Lopes et al. (Lopes, R.M.C. et al., 2010. Icarus, 205, 540–588), are vast expanses of terrains that appear radar-dark and fairly uniform in Cassini Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. As a result, these terrains are often referred to as “blandlands”. While the interpretation of several other geologic units on Titan – such as dunes...
Authors
Rosaly Lopes, M. J. Malaska, A. Solomonidou, Gall Le, M.A. Janssen, Catherine Neish, E. Turtle, S. Birch, A. G. Hayes, J. Radebaugh, A. Coustenis, A. Schoenfeld, B.W. Stiles, Randolph Kirk, K. Mitchell, E. Stofan, K. Lawrence
Fluvial erosion as a mechanism for crater modification on Titan Fluvial erosion as a mechanism for crater modification on Titan
There are few identifiable impact craters on Titan, especially in the polar regions. One explanation for this observation is that the craters are being destroyed through fluvial processes, such as weathering, mass wasting, fluvial incision and deposition. In this work, we use a landscape evolution model to determine whether or not this is a viable mechanism for crater destruction on...
Authors
Catherine Neish, J. Molaro, J. Lora, A.D. Howard, Randolph Kirk, P. Schenk, V.J. Bray, R. Lorenz
The tectonics of Titan: Global structural mapping from Cassini RADAR The tectonics of Titan: Global structural mapping from Cassini RADAR
The Cassini RADAR mapper has imaged elevated mountain ridge belts on Titan with a linear-to-arcuate morphology indicative of a tectonic origin. Systematic geomorphologic mapping of the ridges in Synthetic Aperture RADAR (SAR) images reveals that the orientation of ridges is globally E–W and the ridges are more common near the equator than the poles. Comparison with a global topographic...
Authors
Zac Liu, Jani Radebaugh, Ron Harris, Eric H. Christiansen, Catherine Neish, Randolph Kirk, Ralph Lorenz
Curiosity’s robotic arm-mounted Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI): Characterization and calibration status Curiosity’s robotic arm-mounted Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI): Characterization and calibration status
MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) is a 2-megapixel, Bayer pattern color CCD camera with a macro lens mounted on a rotatable turret at the end of the 2-meters-long robotic arm aboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. The camera includes white and longwave ultraviolet LEDs to illuminate targets at night. Onboard data processing services include focus stack merging and data...
Authors
Kenneth S. Edgett, Michael Caplinger, Justin Maki, Michael Ravine, F. Tony Ghaemi, Sean McNair, Kenneth Herkenhoff, Brian Duston, Reg Wilson, R. Yingst, Megan Kennedy, Michelle Minitti, Aaron Sengstacken, Kimberley Supulver, Leslie Lipkaman, Gillian Krezoski, Marie McBride, Tessa Jones, Brian Nixon, Jason K. Van Beek, Daniel Krysak, Randolph Kirk
Selection of the Mars Science Laboratory landing site Selection of the Mars Science Laboratory landing site
The selection of Gale crater as the Mars Science Laboratory landing site took over five years, involved broad participation of the science community via five open workshops, and narrowed an initial >50 sites (25 by 20 km) to four finalists (Eberswalde, Gale, Holden and Mawrth) based on science and safety. Engineering constraints important to the selection included: (1) latitude (±30°)...
Authors
M. Golombek, J. Grant, D. Kipp, A. Vasavada, Randolph Kirk, Robin Fergason, P. Bellutta, F. Calef, K. Larsen, Y. Katayama, A. Huertas, R. Beyer, A. Chen, T. Parker, B. Pollard, S. Lee, R. Hoover, H. Sladek, J. Grotzinger, R. Welch, E. Dobrea, J. Michalski, M. Watkins
Cassini SAR, radiometry, scatterometry and altimetry observations of Titan's dune fields Cassini SAR, radiometry, scatterometry and altimetry observations of Titan's dune fields
Large expanses of linear dunes cover Titan’s equatorial regions. As the Cassini mission continues, more dune fields are becoming unveiled and examined by the microwave radar in all its modes of operation (SAR, radiometry, scatterometry, altimetry) and with an increasing variety of observational geometries. In this paper, we report on Cassini’s radar instrument observations of the dune...
Authors
Gall Le, M.A. Janssen, L. Wye, A. G. Hayes, J. Radebaugh, C. Savage, H. Zebker, R. Lorenz, J. I. Lunine, Randolph Kirk, R. Lopes, S. Wall, P. Callahan, E. Stofan, Tom Farr
Channel morphometry, sediment transport, and implications for tectonic activity and surficial ages of Titan basins Channel morphometry, sediment transport, and implications for tectonic activity and surficial ages of Titan basins
Fluvial features on Titan and drainage basins on Earth are remarkably similar despite differences in gravity and surface composition. We determined network bifurcation (Rb) ratios for five Titan and three terrestrial analog basins. Tectonically-modified Earth basins have Rb values greater than the expected range (3.0–5.0) for dendritic networks; comparisons with Rb values determined for...
Authors
R. Cartwright, J.A. Clayton, Randolph Kirk
Evaluating the meaning of “layer” in the Martian north polar layered deposits and the impact on the climate connection Evaluating the meaning of “layer” in the Martian north polar layered deposits and the impact on the climate connection
Using data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, we reassess the methods by which layers within the north polar layered deposits (NPLD) can be delineated and their thicknesses measured. Apparent brightness and morphology alone are insufficient for this task; high resolution topographic data are necessary. From these analyses...
Authors
Kathryn Fishbaugh, Shane Byrne, Kenneth Herkenhoff, Randolph Kirk, Corey Fortezzo, Patrick Russell, Alfred McEwen
Specular reflection on Titan: Liquids in Kraken Mare Specular reflection on Titan: Liquids in Kraken Mare
After more than 50 close flybys of Titan by the Cassini spacecraft, it has become evident that features similar in morphology to terrestrial lakes and seas exist in Titan's polar regions. As Titan progresses into northern spring, the much more numerous and larger lakes and seas in the north-polar region suggested by Cassini RADAR data, are becoming directly illuminated for the first time...
Authors
Katrin Stephan, Ralf Jaumann, Robert Brown, Jason Soderblom, Laurence Soderblom, Jason Barnes, Christophe Sotin, Caitlin Griffith, Randolph Kirk, Kevin Baines, Bonnie Buratti, Roger Clark, Dyer Lytle, Robert Nelson, Philip Nicholson
Mapping products of Titan's surface Mapping products of Titan's surface
Remote sensing instruments aboard the Cassini spacecraft have been observed the surface of Titan globally in the infrared and radar wavelength ranges as well as locally by the Huygens instruments revealing a wealth of new morphological features indicating a geologically active surface. We present a summary of mapping products of Titan's surface derived from data of the remote sensing...
Authors
Katrin Stephan, Ralf Jaumann, Erich Karkoschka, Randolph Kirk, Jason Barnes, Martin Tomasko, Elizabeth Turtle, Lucille Le Corre, Mirjam Langhans, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Ralph Lorenz, Jason Perry
Emplacement of the youngest flood lava on Mars: A short, turbulent story Emplacement of the youngest flood lava on Mars: A short, turbulent story
Recently acquired data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), Context (CTX) imager, and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft were used to investigate the emplacement of the youngest flood-lava flow on Mars. Careful mapping finds that the Athabasca Valles flood lava is the product of a...
Authors
Windy Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, James A. Skinner, Moses Milazzo, Alfred McEwen, Timothy Titus, Mark Rosiek, Donna Galuszka, Elpitha Howington-Kraus, Randolph Kirk
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO's Primary Science Phase (PSP) The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO's Primary Science Phase (PSP)
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) acquired 8 terapixels of data in 9137 images of Mars between October 2006 and December 2008, covering ∼0.55% of the surface. Images are typically 5–6 km wide with 3-color coverage over the central 20% of the swath, and their scales usually range from 25 to 60 cm/pixel. Nine hundred and sixty...
Authors
Alfred McEwen, Maria Banks, Nicole Baugh, Kris Becker, Aaron Boyd, James Bergstrom, Ross Beyer, Edward Bortolini, Nathan Bridges, Shane Byrne, Bradford Castalia, Frank Chuang, Larry Crumpler, Ingrid J. Daubar, Alix Davatzes, Donald Deardorff, Alaina DeJong, W. Delamere, Eldar Dobrea, Colin Dundas, Eric Eliason, Yisrael Espinoza, Audrie Fennema, Kathryn Fishbaugh, Terry Forrester, Paul Geissler, John Grant, Jennifer Griffes, John P. Grotzinger, Virginia Gulick, Candice Hansen, Kenneth Herkenhoff, Rodney Heyd, Windy Jaeger, Dean Jones, Bob Kanefsky, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Robert King, Randolph Kirk, Kelly Kolb, Jeffrey Lasco, Alexandra Lefort, Richard Leis, Kevin Lewis, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Sarah Mattson, Guy McArthur, Michael Mellon, Joannah Metz, Moses Milazzo, Ralph Milliken, Tahirih Motazedian, Chris Okubo, Albert Ortiz, Andrea Philippoff, Joseph Plassmann, Anjani Polit, Patrick Russell, Christian Schaller, Mindi Searls, Timothy Spriggs, Steve Squyres, Steven Tarr, Nicolas Thomas, Bradley Thomson, Livio L. Tornabene, Charlie Van Houten, Circe Verba, Catherine Weitz, James Wray
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 165
Nature, distribution, and origin of Titan’s Undifferentiated Plains Nature, distribution, and origin of Titan’s Undifferentiated Plains
The Undifferentiated Plains on Titan, first mapped by Lopes et al. (Lopes, R.M.C. et al., 2010. Icarus, 205, 540–588), are vast expanses of terrains that appear radar-dark and fairly uniform in Cassini Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. As a result, these terrains are often referred to as “blandlands”. While the interpretation of several other geologic units on Titan – such as dunes...
Authors
Rosaly Lopes, M. J. Malaska, A. Solomonidou, Gall Le, M.A. Janssen, Catherine Neish, E. Turtle, S. Birch, A. G. Hayes, J. Radebaugh, A. Coustenis, A. Schoenfeld, B.W. Stiles, Randolph Kirk, K. Mitchell, E. Stofan, K. Lawrence
Fluvial erosion as a mechanism for crater modification on Titan Fluvial erosion as a mechanism for crater modification on Titan
There are few identifiable impact craters on Titan, especially in the polar regions. One explanation for this observation is that the craters are being destroyed through fluvial processes, such as weathering, mass wasting, fluvial incision and deposition. In this work, we use a landscape evolution model to determine whether or not this is a viable mechanism for crater destruction on...
Authors
Catherine Neish, J. Molaro, J. Lora, A.D. Howard, Randolph Kirk, P. Schenk, V.J. Bray, R. Lorenz
The tectonics of Titan: Global structural mapping from Cassini RADAR The tectonics of Titan: Global structural mapping from Cassini RADAR
The Cassini RADAR mapper has imaged elevated mountain ridge belts on Titan with a linear-to-arcuate morphology indicative of a tectonic origin. Systematic geomorphologic mapping of the ridges in Synthetic Aperture RADAR (SAR) images reveals that the orientation of ridges is globally E–W and the ridges are more common near the equator than the poles. Comparison with a global topographic...
Authors
Zac Liu, Jani Radebaugh, Ron Harris, Eric H. Christiansen, Catherine Neish, Randolph Kirk, Ralph Lorenz
Curiosity’s robotic arm-mounted Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI): Characterization and calibration status Curiosity’s robotic arm-mounted Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI): Characterization and calibration status
MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) is a 2-megapixel, Bayer pattern color CCD camera with a macro lens mounted on a rotatable turret at the end of the 2-meters-long robotic arm aboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. The camera includes white and longwave ultraviolet LEDs to illuminate targets at night. Onboard data processing services include focus stack merging and data...
Authors
Kenneth S. Edgett, Michael Caplinger, Justin Maki, Michael Ravine, F. Tony Ghaemi, Sean McNair, Kenneth Herkenhoff, Brian Duston, Reg Wilson, R. Yingst, Megan Kennedy, Michelle Minitti, Aaron Sengstacken, Kimberley Supulver, Leslie Lipkaman, Gillian Krezoski, Marie McBride, Tessa Jones, Brian Nixon, Jason K. Van Beek, Daniel Krysak, Randolph Kirk
Selection of the Mars Science Laboratory landing site Selection of the Mars Science Laboratory landing site
The selection of Gale crater as the Mars Science Laboratory landing site took over five years, involved broad participation of the science community via five open workshops, and narrowed an initial >50 sites (25 by 20 km) to four finalists (Eberswalde, Gale, Holden and Mawrth) based on science and safety. Engineering constraints important to the selection included: (1) latitude (±30°)...
Authors
M. Golombek, J. Grant, D. Kipp, A. Vasavada, Randolph Kirk, Robin Fergason, P. Bellutta, F. Calef, K. Larsen, Y. Katayama, A. Huertas, R. Beyer, A. Chen, T. Parker, B. Pollard, S. Lee, R. Hoover, H. Sladek, J. Grotzinger, R. Welch, E. Dobrea, J. Michalski, M. Watkins
Cassini SAR, radiometry, scatterometry and altimetry observations of Titan's dune fields Cassini SAR, radiometry, scatterometry and altimetry observations of Titan's dune fields
Large expanses of linear dunes cover Titan’s equatorial regions. As the Cassini mission continues, more dune fields are becoming unveiled and examined by the microwave radar in all its modes of operation (SAR, radiometry, scatterometry, altimetry) and with an increasing variety of observational geometries. In this paper, we report on Cassini’s radar instrument observations of the dune...
Authors
Gall Le, M.A. Janssen, L. Wye, A. G. Hayes, J. Radebaugh, C. Savage, H. Zebker, R. Lorenz, J. I. Lunine, Randolph Kirk, R. Lopes, S. Wall, P. Callahan, E. Stofan, Tom Farr
Channel morphometry, sediment transport, and implications for tectonic activity and surficial ages of Titan basins Channel morphometry, sediment transport, and implications for tectonic activity and surficial ages of Titan basins
Fluvial features on Titan and drainage basins on Earth are remarkably similar despite differences in gravity and surface composition. We determined network bifurcation (Rb) ratios for five Titan and three terrestrial analog basins. Tectonically-modified Earth basins have Rb values greater than the expected range (3.0–5.0) for dendritic networks; comparisons with Rb values determined for...
Authors
R. Cartwright, J.A. Clayton, Randolph Kirk
Evaluating the meaning of “layer” in the Martian north polar layered deposits and the impact on the climate connection Evaluating the meaning of “layer” in the Martian north polar layered deposits and the impact on the climate connection
Using data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, we reassess the methods by which layers within the north polar layered deposits (NPLD) can be delineated and their thicknesses measured. Apparent brightness and morphology alone are insufficient for this task; high resolution topographic data are necessary. From these analyses...
Authors
Kathryn Fishbaugh, Shane Byrne, Kenneth Herkenhoff, Randolph Kirk, Corey Fortezzo, Patrick Russell, Alfred McEwen
Specular reflection on Titan: Liquids in Kraken Mare Specular reflection on Titan: Liquids in Kraken Mare
After more than 50 close flybys of Titan by the Cassini spacecraft, it has become evident that features similar in morphology to terrestrial lakes and seas exist in Titan's polar regions. As Titan progresses into northern spring, the much more numerous and larger lakes and seas in the north-polar region suggested by Cassini RADAR data, are becoming directly illuminated for the first time...
Authors
Katrin Stephan, Ralf Jaumann, Robert Brown, Jason Soderblom, Laurence Soderblom, Jason Barnes, Christophe Sotin, Caitlin Griffith, Randolph Kirk, Kevin Baines, Bonnie Buratti, Roger Clark, Dyer Lytle, Robert Nelson, Philip Nicholson
Mapping products of Titan's surface Mapping products of Titan's surface
Remote sensing instruments aboard the Cassini spacecraft have been observed the surface of Titan globally in the infrared and radar wavelength ranges as well as locally by the Huygens instruments revealing a wealth of new morphological features indicating a geologically active surface. We present a summary of mapping products of Titan's surface derived from data of the remote sensing...
Authors
Katrin Stephan, Ralf Jaumann, Erich Karkoschka, Randolph Kirk, Jason Barnes, Martin Tomasko, Elizabeth Turtle, Lucille Le Corre, Mirjam Langhans, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Ralph Lorenz, Jason Perry
Emplacement of the youngest flood lava on Mars: A short, turbulent story Emplacement of the youngest flood lava on Mars: A short, turbulent story
Recently acquired data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), Context (CTX) imager, and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft were used to investigate the emplacement of the youngest flood-lava flow on Mars. Careful mapping finds that the Athabasca Valles flood lava is the product of a...
Authors
Windy Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, James A. Skinner, Moses Milazzo, Alfred McEwen, Timothy Titus, Mark Rosiek, Donna Galuszka, Elpitha Howington-Kraus, Randolph Kirk
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO's Primary Science Phase (PSP) The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO's Primary Science Phase (PSP)
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) acquired 8 terapixels of data in 9137 images of Mars between October 2006 and December 2008, covering ∼0.55% of the surface. Images are typically 5–6 km wide with 3-color coverage over the central 20% of the swath, and their scales usually range from 25 to 60 cm/pixel. Nine hundred and sixty...
Authors
Alfred McEwen, Maria Banks, Nicole Baugh, Kris Becker, Aaron Boyd, James Bergstrom, Ross Beyer, Edward Bortolini, Nathan Bridges, Shane Byrne, Bradford Castalia, Frank Chuang, Larry Crumpler, Ingrid J. Daubar, Alix Davatzes, Donald Deardorff, Alaina DeJong, W. Delamere, Eldar Dobrea, Colin Dundas, Eric Eliason, Yisrael Espinoza, Audrie Fennema, Kathryn Fishbaugh, Terry Forrester, Paul Geissler, John Grant, Jennifer Griffes, John P. Grotzinger, Virginia Gulick, Candice Hansen, Kenneth Herkenhoff, Rodney Heyd, Windy Jaeger, Dean Jones, Bob Kanefsky, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Robert King, Randolph Kirk, Kelly Kolb, Jeffrey Lasco, Alexandra Lefort, Richard Leis, Kevin Lewis, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Sarah Mattson, Guy McArthur, Michael Mellon, Joannah Metz, Moses Milazzo, Ralph Milliken, Tahirih Motazedian, Chris Okubo, Albert Ortiz, Andrea Philippoff, Joseph Plassmann, Anjani Polit, Patrick Russell, Christian Schaller, Mindi Searls, Timothy Spriggs, Steve Squyres, Steven Tarr, Nicolas Thomas, Bradley Thomson, Livio L. Tornabene, Charlie Van Houten, Circe Verba, Catherine Weitz, James Wray