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Alicia Metzger
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Materials Science
Missouri State University
Advisor: Dr. Kevin Mickus
Abstract
The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) is an advanced imaging spectrometer that was launched aboard the India Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Chandrayyan-1 in 2008. Since that time, it has mapped nearly 97% of the surface in two modes, Global and Target. Using Global mode imagery (lower spectral resolution) focused on the Descartes Region of the lunar nearside, this project attempts to perform initial calibrations in order to evaluate the efficiency of ENVI's spectral analysis software and conduct preliminary analysis. The imagery data collected adjacent to the Apollo 16 landing site, whose samples and laboratory spectra are used in comparison with the ENVI data. The preliminary analysis attempts to distinguish the two physiographic regions of the Descartes area - The Cayley Plains and Descartes Highlands. The results of the analysis proved to be only largely conclusive of the presence of lunar regolith with minor inferred mineralogy constituents. Due to the lack of publicly available advanced calibrated imagery (yet to be released), in both Global and Target modes, future work focuses on making the additional calibrations and ultimately conducting classified supervisions on the geology of the Descartes Region and Central Highlands. The resulting maps will be fundamental in understanding the lunar mineralogical and lithological distribution which would significantly advance our knowledge of the geological evolution of the moon as well as preparing for any future proposed in-situ resource utilization techniques.
Alicia Metzger is a senior at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. She currently is pursuing a comprehensive bachelor's degree in geology, with additional minors in astronomy and geospatial sciences. Her research interests include remote sensing, optical mineralogy and geophysics.
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