Prf Matthew Balme

The ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft has been in orbit around Mars since 2016. It carries a variety of instruments including CaSSIS, a high resolution camera with 4 bands (i.e. it can see in 4-'colours') and stereo capability to measure the shape of the surface. CaSSIS adds a new dimension to the already enormous archive of Mars images generated by previous NASA and ESA spacecraft. In fact, the sheer scale of the Mars imaging dataset has made it difficult to use - no one person, or even a group of people, can look at every image in detail. For this reason, this project aims to use new Deep Learning (DL, a type of 'AI')techniques to provide a means of analysing these huge datasets; in essence, doing some of the 'leg work' before humans then check and correct errors in the the automated results and proceed with in-depth analysis. A key feature of visual DL type approaches is that they use "training data" - usually digitised records of '"truth" made by trained humans - to learn from them what is right and wrong when identifying features or textures. With a large, well-designed training set, DL can rapidly analyse huge numbers of images, and produce similar outputs to human operators. This project covers three research areas, each using DL techniques to analyse large datasets. Each builds on human mapping and digitising results our group has already done to support the ESA ExoMars Rover mission (delayed from 2022to 2028) and also makes use of our ongoing CaSSIS team membership, allowing new CaSSIS images to be rapidly targeted and acquired. The three areas are: (i)Greatly expanding the current geological map of the ExoMars Rover landing site. This needs to be done to prepare for the 2028 launch, as the area covered by the existing 2022 map is unlikely to be suitable for the 2028 mission. The problem is that the image data available are of such high resolution (up to 25 cm/pixel) that the current map took years to produce. Manually extending the map to an even larger areas is unrealistic. However, we will use our existing map to train a DL model to identify the surface textures and colours (using CaSSIS) of the various geological units, thus greatly improving the speed we can do the new mapping. (ii) Measuring the orientations of large wind-blown ripples (known as Transverse Aeolian Ridges, or TARs) on a global scale, and comparing these with wind directions generated by advanced computer models of the martian atmosphere. Ithas been observed that TARs are generally immobile, yet they must once have been active as they are very common on Mars. As we also know that Mars' recent climate has changed both systematically and in repeatable cycles over the last 20 years, we can use different climate models setups to see which climate period best matches the measured TAR orientations - and thus when they were active. We will use a DL 'TAR-finder' to make the orientation measurements automatically (we already have a working prototype) making use of CaSSIS and other high resolution data to train the models. (iii) Mapping the population of km-scale mounds (small hills) across the 'dichotomy' region of Mars (the boundary between the ancient southern highlands and the younger northern lowlands). In a previous study, we mapped out ~15,000 mounds manually, yet perhaps ten times this number are present along the dichotomy. The mounds are very important, as our recent study of just one section of the dichotomy shows that they represent ancient parts of the highlands that were almost obliterated by erosion, more than 3.7 billion years ago. We want to find out if this is true across the whole dichotomy region, so we will use DL to map the mounds automatically, and then use CaSSIS and other data to test whether they are also outliers from the highlands. The outcome will be new Mars science results, plus a new 'blueprint' for applying DL to Mars data in preparation for the start of the ExoMars Rover mission in 2028.

The proposal covers ongoing Pancam operations planning and staff training at Open University led by Prof. Balme, Deputy PI of PanCam. It provides funding for continued development of the PASTI tool - a browser-based software tool used in RFM tactical operations to allow the wider science team to select targets for PanCam and Enfys observations based on daily low-resolution mosaics. It funds Dr Banham to continue work on surface geology training programmes and operations preparation required for the Pancam/Enfys team to be able to exploit the data acquired. Finally it includes funding for IDS Schwenzer and her team to begin to develop the tools and methodologies required for rapid understanding of the geochemical environment of drill sites (and from that their habitability).

developing AI-assisted particle analysis Techniques

Development of an Ops tool forPanCam

Ongoing ExoMars PanCam deputy PI activity

Atmospheric and surface conditions on Earth, Mars and Venus, and thus their suitability for life, hinge on the planetary greenhouse effect and the temperature increase connected to it. A similar effect, known as the Solid State Greenhouse effect (SSGE), can be seen on moons and planets totally or partially covered with ice. Because of its global importance in the martian CO2 and dust cycle, this project tries to understand the SSGE through a series of experiments in a controlled environment combined with mathematical models. Thus we will be able to assess the temperatures within the polar caps.

OU activity on the ESA JUICE Development Phase up to end FY14/15

This is partly a resubmission of the 2019 Aurora call, made due to the delay in the ExoMars Rover launch by two years. The project will prepare for ExoMars Rover surface operations and sccovers ience activity during surface operations . It also seeks a one year extension to the ongoing Aeolian Environments project fund t oensure that this project continues through the active mission

The project reflects the vision of the proposer in that it puts observation at the forefront of planetary science and is focussed on the role of liquid water in shaping landscapes on Mars. By applying new terrain analysis techniques it also reflects the applicant’s vision in attempting to circumvent the age-old planetary science problem of “convergence of form” (i.e. where different landforms can look the same, but were actually formed by very different processes) which, in the absence of field data, can cause significant confusion. The proposed work is novel as our is the first group to seriously apply these terrain analysis techniques to bodies other than the Earth

• Identify and characterize a variety of potential landing sites for the ExoMars 2018 Rover with the aim of submitting proposals to the open call of Feb. 2014 • Support the ExoMars Landing Site Selection Working Group (LSSWG) by providing detailed characterisation of landing sites proposed by the international community. • Conduct detailed geological analyses of shortlisted landing sites to develop testable hypotheses to aid geological exploration of the landing site • Enable participation in current and future camera and mineralogical orbiting instruments to facilitate the ExoMars 2018 and other landing site studies • Position UK scientists for ExoMars Interdisciplinary Scientist and Guest Investigator Roles

DTG 2014

A project to study the effects of wind as a geological process at the ExoMars Rover landing site. The project included in-situ, remote sensing, climate/windflow modelling and fieldwork.

STFC Planetary Science Consolidated grant - details to be entered here.

A small project to "label" (identify) areas of the proposed ExoMars landing sites to support ESA machine learning technology development. The labelling “trains” the system to recognise different landform types.

ExoFIT is a Mars rover trial for ESA, organised by Airbus Defence and Space. Balme has been invited to be Mission Scientist for this activity.

Support sought for possible Guest Investigator role on ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Case fro TGO GI is already submitted to ESA, but support is sought from UK SA. Yes/no from ESA will be announced in late summer 2016, but UK SA have said that cases for support will still be required by the UK SA Aurora deadline. The proposed GI project has two parts part 1 aims to use TGO CASSIS camera data to study a region of mars called Arabia Terra. part 2 aims to use TGO CASSIS data to monitor dust devils.

STFC DTG Quota 2015-16 AMS record for students starting on or after 01/10/2015

Continuation of current UK SA funding to investigate ExoMars landing sites.

The funding from the STFC under their Impact Accelerator account is being used to strategically focus on translating our space research, developing new opportunities and providing support to foster entrepreneurialism among our academics and researchers. The funding from the 2017 STFC IAA will support projects aimed at: 1. Developing techniques to produce higher resolution remote sensing of surface temperature. 2. Production of a Digital Correlated Double Sampling (DCDS) instrument. 3. Developing techniques to determine the characteristics of ice.

This project will study the ‘hidden hazard’ posed by melting of shallow ground-ice in mountainous areas. The study is a combination of field measurements and remote sensing observations. The first part of the project is to investigate the ~500 000 m3 Móafellshyrna slide that was caused by melting of perched ice-rich sediments. The next step will be to apply these results to inhabited locations with similar ice-rich debris/mountainous settings. We will combine field geophysical measurements with remote sensing and modelling to investigate specific sites, and produce new empirical models to identify other ‘at-risk’ zones and determine the level of risk.

Work organising UKSA-funded Mars Analogue Rover mission

This grant supports a PhD studentship to perform atmospheric global and mesoscale modelling studies of small and medium scale dust events with relevance to ExoMars EDM and Rover entry, descent and landings. The student will investigate the behaviour of dust lifting parameterizations in the models that simulate the effect of small, convective vortices (dust devils) and lifting by large-scale near surface wind stress. The dependence on both local time of day, time of year and model resolution will be investigated. Results will be validated against past spacecraft entry, descent and landing data, with the aim of making improved predictions for future events.

CLUPI (Close UP Imager) is an instrument being developed for ESA’s ExoMars rover mission that will provide close-up images of the martian surface. With this grant the CEI is developing a hardware and software emulator for the CLUPI instrument than can be used in rover field trials to train rover operators in CLUPI operation prior to the flight instrument being developed.

The funding from STFC under their Impact Accelerator Account is being used to stragically focus on translating our space research, developing new opportunities and providing support to foster entrepreneurialism among our academics and researchers. This project is building on current work to develop new techniques to produce higher resolution remote sensing of surface temperature data based on the principle of downscaling using additional datasets. The project is working in collaboration with Geoger Ltd to develop a software tool with commercial applications to provide specialist technical information at new spatial and temporal scales.

The aim of our programme in Astronomy & Planetary Science at the Open University (APSOU) is to carryout detailed investigations of the origin and evolution of galaxies, stars and planets with a special emphasis on our own Solar System through a combination of observation, simulation, laboratory analysis and theoretical modelling. Our research is divided into two broad areas, reflecting the historical research strengths. This research programme is well-matched to both nationally- and internationally-agreed research imperatives. In its final report, A Science Vision for European Astronomy2, Astronet’s Science Working Group identified four broad areas of strategic importance; our research covers major topics within each of these areas. APSOU projects also map onto two of the four Science Challenges that form STFC’s Road Map3 for science (‘How did the universe begin and how is it evolving?’ and ‘How do stars and planetary systems develop and is life unique to our planet?’). The present APSOU programme comprises 20 projects (labelled A to T), of which 6 are for consideration by the Astronomy Observation (AO) panel, 1 for Astronomy Theory (AT), and 13 for the Planetary Studies (PL) panel. The AO projects cover the breadth of the 7 themes recognised as UK strengths in the report of STFC’s Astronomy Advisory Panel (AAP), whilst the 13 PL projects are directed towards answering questions raised in two of the three themes identified as UK strengths in the roadmap of STFC’s Solar System Advisory Panel (SSAP)4.