Analysis of the surface of the solar system bodies with the use of mathematical morphology techniques

Task: Remote Sensing Analysis of Landforms in Isidis Planitia, Mars

In 2018, the project’s goal and scope were determined, namely: to develop a semi-automatic algorithm to analyse characteristic landforms in Isidis Planitia on Mars. The current scope is preliminary processing of imaged data and the analysis of structures of interest, i.e. the detection of arcuate ridges and aligned cones, and the classification of detected landforms as a function of their spatial features.
Preliminary activities consist of the selection of the input dataset. For analysis purposes, a set of high- resolution optical data (2m spatial resolution) acquired by a stereoscopic camera on the European Space Agency Mars Express mission (the High/Super Resolution Stereo Colour Imager) was selected.
The planned next steps are as follows: the characterisation of structures of interest from a limited dataset, the semi-automatic extraction of structures of interest based on the use of mathematical morphology operators and, finally, creating libraries of spatial parameters for extracted structures.
These studies will help us to understand the origins of Isidis’ characteristic cones. Understanding their spatial distribution will enable us to determine the pattern governing their arrangement. Notably, a characteristic feature is their linearity and arcuateity, which is a geological scientific problem.
This study is being carried out in cooperation with the Centre’s Dynamics of the Solar System and Planetology Department (Zakład Dynamiki Ukłądu Słonecznego i Planetologii) under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s grant for the development of young researchers and doctoral programme participants. Participants are selected via an internal competition.

Project duration:	January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2019
Funding:	Ministry of Science and Higher Education, grant for the development of young researchers and doctoral programme participants
Principal Investigator:	dr Małgorzata Jenerowicz