Mineral mapping of lunar highland region using Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) hyperspectral data

Abstract

Mineral mapping of lunar surface is significant to understand the origin, crustal evolution, geological history and stratigraphy of the Moon. Advancements in orbital satellite sensor technology has allowed discriminating the minerals on lunar surface using hyperspectral data. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) onboard Chandrayaan-1 provides unprecedented data of lunar surface to study about the Moon. In this paper, the minerals in and around Wegener crater on the lunar highland region was investigated using M3 data. For this purpose, we used spectral similarity mapping (SSM) and band shape methods to discriminate minerals in this region. In SSM, dimensionality of M3 data is reduced using Maximum Noise Fraction (MNF) and spectral end-members are extracted through Pixel Purity Index (PPI) algorithm. The mineralogical diversity is classified using Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) algorithm. In addition, different band shape algorithms such as band curvature (bc), band strength (bs), band tilt (bt) and band ratio (br) at crucial wavelengths are applied to recognise the minerals. Low-Ca pyroxene (LCP) minerals are identified in and around this region. The presence of LCP minerals may be attributed to magmatic differentiation or later stage layered mafic intrusions.