Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared imaging science. Thermographic cameras usually detect radiation in the long-infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum and produce images of that radiation, called thermograms. Since infrared radiation is emitted by all objects with a temperature above absolute zero according to the black body radiation law, thermography makes it possible to see one's environment with or without visible illumination. The amount of radiation emitted by an object increases with temperature; therefore, thermography allows one to see variations in temperature. When viewed through a thermal imaging camera, warm objects stand out well against cooler backgrounds; humans and other warm-blooded animals become easily visible against the environment, day or night. As a result, thermography is particularly useful to the military and other users of surveillance cameras.
The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) is a camera on board the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. It images Mars in the visible and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum in order to determine the thermal properties of the surface and to refine the distribution of minerals on the surface of Mars as determined by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES). Additionally, it helps scientists to understand how the mineralogy of Mars relates to its landforms, and it can be used to search for thermal hotspots in the Martian subsurface.
Thermal infrared spectroscopy is the subset of infrared spectroscopy that deals with radiation emitted in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The emitted infrared radiation, though similar to blackbody radiation, is different in that the radiation is banded at characteristic vibrations in the material. The method measures the thermal infrared radiation emitted from a volume or surface. This method is commonly used to identify the composition of surface by analyzing its spectrum and comparing it to previously measured materials. It is particularly suited to airborne and spaceborne applications.
Multispectral imaging captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by filters or detected with the use of instruments that are sensitive to particular wavelengths, including light from frequencies beyond the visible light range, i.e. infrared and ultra-violet. It can allow extraction of additional information the human eye fails to capture with its visible receptors for red, green and blue. It was originally developed for military target identification and reconnaissance. Early space-based imaging platforms incorporated multispectral imaging technology to map details of the Earth related to coastal boundaries, vegetation, and landforms. Multispectral imaging has also found use in document and painting analysis.
Philip Russel Christensen is a geologist whose research interests focus on the composition, physical properties, processes, and morphology of planetary surfaces, with an emphasis on Mars and the Earth. He is currently a Regents' Professor and the Ed and Helen Korrick Professor of Geological Sciences at Arizona State University (ASU).
Themis is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus in Greek mythology.
Loki Patera is the largest volcanic depression on Jupiter's moon Io, 202 kilometres (126 mi) in diameter. It contains an active lava lake, with an episodically overturning crust. The level of activity seen is similar to a superfast spreading mid-ocean ridge on Earth. Temperature measurements of thermal emission at Loki Patera taken by Voyager 1's Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer and Radiometer (IRIS) instrument were consistent with sulfur volcanism.
Volcanism on Io, a moon of Jupiter, is represented by the presence of volcanoes, volcanic pits and lava flows on the surface. Io's volcanic activity was discovered in 1979 by Linda Morabito, an imaging scientist working on Voyager 1. Observations of Io by passing spacecraft and Earth-based astronomers have revealed more than 150 active volcanoes. As of 2004, up to 400 such volcanoes are predicted to exist based on these observations. Io's volcanism makes the satellite one of only four known currently volcanically or cryovolcanically active worlds in the Solar System
Evidence for carbonates on Mars was first discovered in 2008. Carbonates were formed in the early history of Mars. Evidence shows Mars was once warmer and wet about 4 billion years ago, that is about 560 million years after the formation of Mars. At this time span, the water on early Mars reacted with Mars' carbon dioxide, this reaction formed carbonic acid. The carbonic acid joined into the water cycle on early Mars. The carbonic acid in the water cycle produced carbonates. The carbonates removed (leached) greenhouse gases, water vapor, and carbon dioxide from Mars' atmosphere.
Mawrth Vallis is a valley on Mars, located in the Oxia Palus quadrangle at 22.3°N, 343.5°E with an elevation approximately two kilometers below datum. Situated between the southern highlands and northern lowlands, the valley is a channel formed by massive flooding which occurred in Mars’ ancient past. It is an ancient water outflow channel with light-colored clay-rich rocks.
Bruce Martin Jakosky is a professor of Geological Sciences and associate director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has been involved with the Viking, Solar Mesosphere Explorer, Clementine, Mars Observer, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Science Laboratory and MAVEN spacecraft missions, and is involved in planning future spacecraft missions.
Thor is an active volcano on Jupiter's moon Io. It is located on Io's anti-Jupiter hemisphere at 39.15°N 133.14°W. A major eruption with high thermal emission and a large, volcanic plume was observed during a Galileo flyby on August 6, 2001, when the spacecraft flew through the outer portions of the plume allowing for direct sampling. The eruption continued into Galileo's next flyby in October 2001. As seen during high-resolution images taken during the eruption, Thor consists of a series of dark lava flows emanating from a set of nearby volcanic depressions. Before the eruption, the area consisted of red-brown plains, composed of irradiated sulfur, typical of Io's mid- to high-northern latitudes and a set of yellow flows, possibly consisting of sulfur or silicate flows covered by diffuse sulfur deposits. During the New Horizons encounter in February 2007, Thor was still active, with the spacecraft observing thermal emission in the near-infrared and a volcanic plume at the volcano.
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer is an interplanetary spacecraft that was launched on 14 April 2023 from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana by the European Space Agency (ESA) with Airbus Defence and Space as the main contractor. The mission is planned to study Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa, three of Jupiter's Galilean moons. They are thought to have significant bodies of liquid water beneath their icy surfaces which would make them potentially habitable environments.
Europa Clipper is a space probe in development by NASA. Planned for launch in October 2024, the spacecraft is being developed to study the Galilean moon Europa through a series of flybys while in orbit around Jupiter.
Zamama is an active volcanic center on Jupiter's moon Io. This volcanic center erupted after the Voyager 1 flyby in 1979, making it one of the few planetary volcanoes known to have activated during this generation's lifetime. Further analysis and study by the Galileo spacecraft helped with the overall study of Io's volcanism. Galileo located it on Io at 21°N173°W. Zamama has a fissure-fed-type flow that is 150 km (93 mi) long with temperatures of 1,100 K, and the volcanic center site has explosive and effusive eruption characteristics. The flow appears to be emanating from the Promethean-type volcano.
Journey to Enceladus and Titan (JET) is an astrobiology mission concept to assess the habitability potential of Enceladus and Titan, moons of Saturn.
Remote sensing is used in the geological sciences as a data acquisition method complementary to field observation, because it allows mapping of geological characteristics of regions without physical contact with the areas being explored. About one-fourth of the Earth's total surface area is exposed land where information is ready to be extracted from detailed earth observation via remote sensing. Remote sensing is conducted via detection of electromagnetic radiation by sensors. The radiation can be naturally sourced, or produced by machines and reflected off of the Earth surface. The electromagnetic radiation acts as an information carrier for two main variables. First, the intensities of reflectance at different wavelengths are detected, and plotted on a spectral reflectance curve. This spectral fingerprint is governed by the physio-chemical properties of the surface of the target object and therefore helps mineral identification and hence geological mapping, for example by hyperspectral imaging. Second, the two-way travel time of radiation from and back to the sensor can calculate the distance in active remote sensing systems, for example, Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar. This helps geomorphological studies of ground motion, and thus can illuminate deformations associated with landslides, earthquakes, etc.
The Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE) is an imaging near infrared spectrometer on board the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter's moon Europa. MISE will examine Europa's surface composition and relate it to the habitability of its internal water ocean.
The Interior Characterization of Europa using Magnetometry (ICEMAG) is a multi-frequency magnetometer that was proposed to be flown on board the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, but its inclusion was cancelled in March 2019. Magnetic induction is a powerful tool for probing the subsurface and determine Europa's ocean depth, salinity, and ice shell thickness, as well as detecting erupting plume activity.
The Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS) is an ultraviolet spectrograph imager that will be flown on board the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter's moon Europa. The Europa-UVS will be able to detect small erupting plumes and will provide data about the composition and dynamics of Europa's thin exosphere.
