Sverdrup-Henson crater: A candidate location for the first lunar South Pole settlement.

Robotic and manned exploration of the Moon is the next target in Solar System exploration. The availability of resources such as water ice, iron oxides, helium-3, and rare earth elements, combined with permanently sunlit areas, provides the opportunity for the first settlement, either human or robotic, on the Moon. We used several selection criteria (abundance of water ice, the slope of terrain, usable energy sources, communications, and base expandability) to identify a suitable area for a future base in the southern polar crater Sverdrup-Henson.

Morphometric and topographic data of small and medium size landforms in the Northern Circumpolar Region of Mars.

A substantial dataset containing topographic landforms at Olympia Undae and Scandia Cavi in the Northern circumpolar region of Mars was created by Sanchez-Bayton et al. (2022) [1]. This dataset contains the essential morphometric parameters of 200 small and medium-size landforms.

Unique and Potentially Mars-Relevant Flow Regime and Water Sources at a High Andes-Atacama Site.

A field expedition in the High Andes/Atacama Desert region revealed two types of flow-produced structures and a unique flow regime. Gullies somewhat smaller than those on Mars (width: 0.2-1 m, depth: 0.

Mars-Relevant Field Experiences in Morocco: The Importance of Spatial Scales and Subsurface Exploration.

During field work at the Ibn Battuta Mars analogue sites, two research questions were analyzed: (1) How do we identify sampling sites using remote and local imaging and (2) what kind of information can be gained from shallow subsurface exploration? While remote images help in targeting field activities in general, the connection between observations at different spatial scales for different rocky desert terrain types is not well established; in this, focused comparison of remote in situ images of well-selected analogues would help a great deal. Dried up lake beds as discerned in remotely acquired data may not show signatures of past water activity, while shallow subsurface exploration could reveal the lacustrine period. Acquisition of several satellite images of the same terrain under different geometries would help to support the planning of such in situ work.

Luminescence Spectroscopical Properties of Plagioclase Particles from the Hayabusa Sample Return Mission: An Implication for Study of Space Weathering Processes in the Asteroid Itokawa.

We report a systematic spectroscopical investigation of three plagioclase particles (RB-QD04-0022, RA-QD02-0025-01, and RA-QD02-0025-02) returned by the Hayabusa spacecraft from the asteroid Itokawa, by means of scanning electron microscopy, cathodoluminescence microscopy/spectroscopy, and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The cathodoluminescence properties are used to evaluate the crystallization effects and the degree of space weathering processes, especially the shock-wave history of Itokawa. They provide new insights regarding spectral changes of asteroidal bodies due to space weathering processes.

Review of wet environment types on Mars with focus on duration and volumetric issues.

The astrobiological significance of certain environment types on Mars strongly depends on the temperature, duration, and chemistry of liquid water that was present there in the past. Recent works have focused on the identification of signs of ancient water on Mars, as it is more difficult to estimate the above-mentioned parameters. In this paper, two important factors are reviewed, the duration and the volume of water at different environment types on past and present Mars.

Analysis of dark albedo features on a southern polar dune field of Mars.

We observed 20-200 m sized low-albedo seepage-like streaks and their annual change on defrosting polar dunes in the southern hemisphere of Mars, based on the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images. The structures originate from dark spots and can be described as elongated or flowlike and, at places, branching streaks. They frequently have another spotlike structure at their end.

Water related environment modelling on Mars.

During a human Mars exploration because of the lack of time astronauts need fast methods for the interpretation of unexpected observations which give them flexibility and new, important targets. With in-situ modelling it is possible to get information on various past and present processes at the same location on a far wider spectrum than would be realized even during a long mission. This work summarizes the potential technical requirements and benefits of the modelling.