Surface Composition Maps

This page provides information about various instruments and detailed instructions for analyzing surface data, including rock and mineral compositions, dust coverage, and surface properties like thermal inertia and albedo. These insights help deepen our understanding of surface materials and their characteristics (AI-supported analysis included).

Summary of Key Strengths
1 CRISM: Exceptional for detailed mineralogy at localized scales, sensitive to specific minerals like clays and sulfates.
2 THEMIS: Excels in thermal inertia and detecting surface features linked to dust and rock textures, with lower resolution than CRISM or OMEGA.
3 TES: Balances thermal inertia, mineral, and dust detection at a global scale, making it excellent for broad geological context.
4 OMEGA: Specialized in detecting and mapping specific minerals and ices over larger areas but with less emphasis on thermal properties.

Here’s a chart of Mars surface minerals and what they reveal about the planet's history and processes:

Directions:

1. Open JMARS

2. Click on "LAYERS"

3. Click "BROWSE" Tab. Under "Select Category. In the top box choose '"Instrument". Alternately, in "SEARCH LAYERS" type in the name of the instrument you need.

JMARS has a good tutorial on how to query Stamps, illustrated using TES and THEMIS. (Youtube version)

Example of surface Composition