AI in Space Machine Learning Tools for Automatic Mapping of Martian Landforms

Mars is at the center of current solar system exploration. Three spacecraft are presently orbiting the planet: NASA’s Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance orbiters as well as the European Space Agency’s Mars Express. These orbiters are surveying the entire Martian surface to understand the planet’s past and the geological, climatic, and other processes responsible for its present state. They gather ever-increasing amounts of spatially extended data. Science data archived from all planetary missions prior to the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission totals approximately 5 terabytes. NASA expects that number to double over the Odyssey’s duration and to increase by a factor of 10 with the newest Mars Reconnaissance mission. This data deluge presents difficult transmission, storage, and distribution challenges. Less publicized is the scientifi