20-EPN2-021: Construction of lunar mineral maps using NIR hyperspectral data in combination with GRS and/or LIBS data
Visit by Kyeong Ja Kim of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (Korea) to TA2 Facility 5 – DLR Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory (Germany).
Dates of visit: 16-27 October 2023
Report Summary: There were three objectives of the project:
- Development of a Bayesian method for spectral unmixing of NIR hyperspectral image data acquired by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³) instrument with Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) data
- Construction of global and regional maps of the main minerals of the Moon which are constrained by the elemental abundances measured by GRS and/or LIBS
- Ingestion of the obtained map product into a mobile Geographic Information System (GIS).
Objective (1) was investigated with spectral analysis of various terrestrial analog samples along with lunar simulants to characterise image data that respond to mineralogical features which are directly connected to the mineralogical features of the moon investigated by remote sensing spectral data, especially M3 by Chandrayaan-1. The data obtained at DLR will be characterised with M3 data to understand mineralogical features as well as data obtained from KPLO GRS (KGRS). This approach will
guide in understanding regional mineralogical identification and elemental information that guides in investigation of lunar geology and resource prospecting. Objective (2) has been investigated using global elemental maps derived from M3 and Lunar Prospector GRS data.
The mineral maps constructed so far can be updated once KGRS data become available. Objective (3) will be addressed shortly by importing the constructed mineral maps into the K-Mapper software running on mobile devices. This will be invaluable for future human missions and the lunar resources prospecting international campaign as part of the Artemis 3+ activities.
