Topographic Data Analysis for the VERITAS 2023 Iceland Field Campaign

Files

MazaricoTopographicPoster.pdf (77.28 MB)

Links to Files

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20250002476

Permanent Link

http://hdl.handle.net/11603/41379

Collections

UMBC Faculty Collection
UMBC Center for Space Sciences and Technology (CSST) / Center for Research and Exploration in Space Sciences & Technology II (CRSST II)

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9070-7947

Date

2025-03

Type of Work

posters
Text

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
Public Domain

Subjects

Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration

Abstract

The NASA Discovery mission VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) will explore Venus in the early 2030s, acquiring foundational global datasets that will reshape our understanding of planetary evolution. Its synthetic aperture radar (VISAR) will globally map the surface at Xband wavelength (~3 cm). To better interpret the radar backscatter measurements, relate them to physical properties such as surface roughness, and intercompare them with other radar datasets (Magellan S-band and EnVision VenSAR S-band), the VERITAS science team conducted a field campaign in Iceland, in collaboration with a multi-band radar mapping airborne campaign. Using a combination of Terrestrial Laser Scanners (TLS) and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) we collected topographic information at >40 sites, with the goal of characterizing a wide spectrum of terrains and geologic units. The goal of the analysis of the topographic information of these terrains consists in understanding: 1)Effect of wavelength on the geometrical characteristics of the terrain (roughness, slope, relevant for radar) 2)Effect of posting and resolution on the apparent characteristics of the terrain 3)Information content of different geometric measures for clustering different terrains.