Detection and Boundary Extraction of Martian Impact Craters by a Pyramidal Approach

Abstract

During the last ten years, Mars has been extensively explored and mapped by several NASA and ESA orbital missions, generating large datasets of high-resolution images. This type of information helps the understanding of impact processes occurring on the surface of celestial bodies. In this work, we introduced a novel automated approach for detection and boundary extraction of Martian impact craters. We implemented a pyramidal image representation and classical morphological operations, involving Hough transform (HT), which identified regions with a specific circular form. This was tested on 3D mesh data of Mars, provided by Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). We will demonstrate the potential and usefulness of such automated approach in planetary science.