Extraction of aqueous minerals on Mars surface using CRISM based targeted reduced data records

Abstract

Many scientific studies have been carried out to extract the aqueous mineral signatures on the surface of Mars, which has a record of all minerals such as silicates form by magmatic processes and aqueous minerals in the presence of watery environment. To observe these watery conditions, a visible/shortwave infrared mineral mapping camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) called Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) is used. The aim of this research is to extract the aqueous minerals on Mars using CRISM sensor. Gale Crater is selected for this study because of its past liquid water history.Gale is ∼154 km in diameter and centered near 5.30 S, 1380 E. Gale Crater has an interior mound named as 'Aeolis Mons', which is nearly 100 km wide and 5 km high, consisting of layered sulfates and phyllosilicates. The CRISM reflectance (I/F) targeted reduced data records data of Gale crater, FRT000233AC, centred at 4025'S and 137020'E with high spatial (18 m, 35 m/pixel) and spectral resolution (362-1020 nm (VNIR), 1002-3920 nm (IR), 655 nm/channel) with 545 bands is acquired for this study. The detection and quantification of minerals has been carried out by using a model called modified Gaussian model (MGM). MGM is an approach that uses modified Gaussians in wave number space to model absorption shapes and fits them to a reflectance spectrum.