Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Spectral Variability Of Weathered Basalts And Sandstones, Isabella Seppi

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Spectroscopy can be used to uncover the composition, and therefore the geological history, of rock surfaces and is a major tool for understanding the geologic history of rocks on Mars. The spectra taken from the rovers and orbital spacecraft and at Mars are taken at many different angles and these angles can affect the spectral readings taken from weathered rock surfaces. I will be researching how Mars analog rocks reflect light at different angles. Profs. Melissa Rice, Mike Kraft and Sean Mulcahy have received a grant from NASA to build a hemispheric goniometer which will measure spectra taken form weathered …