RETRIEVING SUBSURFACE PROPERTIES OF MARS-ANALOG GLACIERS WITH DRONE-BASED GPR

Roberto Aguilar, Tyler M. Meng, Michael S. Christoffersen, Stefano Nerozzi, John W. Holt

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Martian debris-covered glaciers (DCGs) contain large quantities of water ice buried under a protective layer of rock and dust, as revealed by observations from the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) sounder on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. However, internal structure and debris layer thickness which are of interest for paleoclimate studies and in-situ resource exploration, respectively, are not obtainable with this instrument and would be challenging for any orbital platform. On Earth, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been employed over terrestrial analogs to understand the basic relationships between the composition, structure, flow kinematics, and morphology of similar landforms. Traditional surface-based GPR involves slow, manual operations with bulky equipment that renders it less suitable than robotic platforms for future Mars exploration missions. To address this challenge, we tested a drone-based GPR over terrestrial DCGs, yielding results that are promising for surveying the interior of Mars-analog glaciers with airborne platforms.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geophysics
  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
  • Environmental Engineering

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