Abstract
As a hyperspectral imager aboard the orbiter “HX-1” of China’s first Mars mission, the Mars Mineralogical Spectrometer (MMS) is designed with hyperspectral and multispectral operation modes to survey the mineral types and their distribution on the surface of Mars, and to study the overall chemical composition and evolution history of Mars. The multispectral modes of MMS are different from hyperspectral modes on the bands selection, spatial and spectral resolution, Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) etc. So the spectral detection capability of each mode of MMS is also different. The ground validation experiment of MMS is conducted to evaluate the hyperspectral and multispectral data quality and detection capabilities. The main conclusions include: (1) The measured hyperspectra of typical mineral samples obtained by MMS agree well with the data acquired by the Standard Comparison Spectrometers (SCS) under the same measurement conditions, and the spectral uncertainty between MMS and SCS is less than 7% in the key spectral ranges (0.7sim2.2~upmu text{m}). For some typical minerals, the absorption band positions deviation between MMS and SCS are within 0.69sim14.86~text{nm}, which are within the spectral resolution limits of MMS. (2) The six sets of band combinations designed for MMS multispectral modes are slightly superior to CRISM’s multispectral mode in terms of spectral resolutions and bands selection, the water-containing minerals will be more accurately distinguished and identified, such as montmorillonite and kaolinite. Besides, the SNR of each multispectral mode is greater than 400 in the 500–2600 nm spectral range, which meets the requirements for the subtle spectral characteristics of water-containing minerals. (3) Benefiting from the MMS ground validation experiment and the experience of the OMEGA and CRISM, it is recommended that MMS first adopt the spatial continuous 52-sample or 104-sample (spatial resolution is about 0.53sim1.06~text{km}) multispectral operation mode for typical minerals global mapping and finding target areas of interest. Then the 208-sample multispectral mode (spatial resolution is about sim265~text{m}) or 26-sample hyperspectral mode can be used to survey target areas of interest for the subtle mineral types characteristics and distribution. At last, 26-sample hyperspectral mode could be used to monitor the atmospheric composition of Mars by limb observations.
Highlights
The evolution history of Mars is preserved in the rocks and sediments on its surface, and the composing minerals and structural characteristics of Martian rocks record their formation conditions and history (Ehlmann and Edwards 2014)
(3) Benefiting from the Mars Mineralogical Spectrometer (MMS) ground validation experiment and the experience of the OMEGA and CRISM, it is recommended that MMS first adopt the spatial continuous 52-sample or 104-sample multispectral operation mode for typical minerals global mapping and finding target areas of interest
In the past 40 years, following earlier telescopic observations (e.g., Pinet and Chevrel 1990; Martin et al 1996), hyperspectral remote sensing serving as an effective tool for the identification and mapping of Martian surface minerals (Farmer 1974; Clark 1995; Bibring et al 2005; Murchie et al 2007) has significantly advanced our understanding of the composition and evolution history of Mars, especially benefiting from the data acquired by OMEGA launched by ESA in 2003 and the CRISM launched by NASA in 2005
Summary
The evolution history of Mars is preserved in the rocks and sediments on its surface, and the composing minerals and structural characteristics of Martian rocks record their formation conditions and history (Ehlmann and Edwards 2014). In the past 40 years, following earlier telescopic observations (e.g., Pinet and Chevrel 1990; Martin et al 1996), hyperspectral remote sensing serving as an effective tool for the identification and mapping of Martian surface minerals (Farmer 1974; Clark 1995; Bibring et al 2005; Murchie et al 2007) has significantly advanced our understanding of the composition and evolution history of Mars, especially benefiting from the data acquired by OMEGA launched by ESA in 2003 and the CRISM launched by NASA in 2005 These two hyper-spectrometers are still working and have acquired a large number of scientific results. MMS could be more accurate than CRISM in identifying and discriminating spectral characteristics of minerals in global mode, but it is still necessary to evaluate the
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