Topographic Data Analysis for the VERITAS 2023 Iceland Field Campaign

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.