An exercise in traceability: quantifying imaging spectrometer noise constraints on geologic interpretation

Donovan Steutel; Josh T. Cahill; Paul G. Lucey

doi:10.1117/12.578553

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30 December 2004 An exercise in traceability: quantifying imaging spectrometer noise constraints on geologic interpretation

Donovan Steutel, Josh T. Cahill, Paul G. Lucey

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Proceedings Volume 5660, Instruments, Science, and Methods for Geospace and Planetary Remote Sensing; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.578553
Event: Fourth International Asia-Pacific Environmental Remote Sensing Symposium 2004: Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, Ocean, Environment, and Space, 2004, Honolulu, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

Multispectral imaging is a useful tool to planetary scientists only if the sensor is sufficiently sensitive to address the scientific questions of interest. In this paper, we demonstrate a quantitative relationship between spectroscopic imaging sensor noise and geologic interpretation of the planetary surface being imaged. By linking surface properties (e.g., chemistry, mineralogy, particle size) to spectra using radiative transfer theory, we determine the relationship between sensor noise and various surface properties which dictate the geologic interpretation of the surface. This relationship can be applied to both 1) past mission data with known sensor performance to determine uncertainty in the scientific interpretation of the data and 2) future mission planning of signal-to-noise requirements to meet specific scientific goals. We use past (NASA’s Clementine), present (ESA’s SMART-1), and future (JAXA’s SELENE) lunar missions as explicit examples.

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Donovan Steutel, Josh T. Cahill, and Paul G. Lucey "An exercise in traceability: quantifying imaging spectrometer noise constraints on geologic interpretation", Proc. SPIE 5660, Instruments, Science, and Methods for Geospace and Planetary Remote Sensing, (30 December 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.578553

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