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Laser and Optical Remote Sensing for Planetary Exploration

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Satellite Missions for Earth and Planetary Exploration".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (18 January 2024) | Viewed by 8278

Special Issue Editors

Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200083, China
Interests: space optics; optoelectronic technology
Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 84/32 Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow 117997, Russia
Interests: physics of planets; remote sensing; space instruments
Xi'an Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China
Interests: spectral imaging technology; new optical remote sensing method
Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200083, China
Interests: satellite-based laser altimetry; laser 3D imaging; photon counting LIDAR

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Planetary exploration is of great significance in promoting the development of science and technology and advancing human civilization more broadly, representing the frontier field of science and technology development in the world. Laser and optical remote sensing payloads, including cameras, spectrometers, imaging spectrometers, and LiDAR, have been widely applied in planetary exploration, playing an irreplaceable role with excellent prospects for scientific and technological applications. While the techniques of laser and optical remote sensing for planetary exploration are similar to those applied for Earth remote sensing, the application of laser and optical remote sensing in planetary exploration is confronted with problems such as complex deep space environments, lighter and smaller requirements on payloads with lower power consumption and long-life payload design requirements, and therefore requires specialized research.

With the development of computational optics, machine learning, materials science and other fields, laser and optical payloads will definitely achieve higher resolution, higher sensitivity and wider detection range to help planetary remote sensing exploration.

This Special Issue aims to study key technologies in laser and optical remote sensing, focusing on topics ranging from remote sensing payload development, breakthroughs in key technologies, research on quantification methods and data processing for scientific applications. In addition, new methods and research on the topic of multi-source data composite applications in laser/optical remote sensing are also welcome. Articles may cover, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  • Laser and optical remote sensing payload for planetary exploration
  • Research on key technique of remote sensing payload
  • Research on spectral detection and component analysis technique
  • Research on LiDAR detection and navigation technique
  • Research on passive optical remote sensing technique
  • Optical laser/detector/sensor for navigation and guidance of deep space exploration
  • Research on novel method and technique adapted to complex space exploration
  • Dark and weak target detection method
  • Research on modeling/simulation/calibration/data processing/analysis of remote sensing payload
  • Multi-source remote sensing data composite application method

Prof. Dr. Zhiping He
Prof. Dr. Oleg Korablev
Prof. Dr. Bin Xue
Prof. Dr. Genghua Huang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • laser and optical remote sensing payload
  • key technique of remote sensing payload
  • spectrometer and imaging spectrometer
  • laser altimeter and LiDAR
  • optical camera
  • calibration technique
  • data processing technique
  • lunar/Martian/planetary/deep space exploration
  • laser/optical/multi-spectral/hyper-spectral remote sensing

Published Papers (8 papers)

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14 pages, 3057 KiB  
Article
A Signal-Based Auto-Focusing Method Available for Raman Spectroscopy Acquisitions in Deep Space Exploration
by Yiheng Liu, Changqing Liu, Yanqing Xin, Ping Liu, Ayang Xiao and Zongcheng Ling
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(5), 820; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16050820 - 27 Feb 2024
Viewed by 440
Abstract
With the development of technology and methodologies, Raman spectrometers are becoming efficient candidate payloads for planetary materials characterizations in deep space exploration missions. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) already deployed two Raman instruments, Super Cam and SHERLOC, onboard the Perseverance Rover [...] Read more.
With the development of technology and methodologies, Raman spectrometers are becoming efficient candidate payloads for planetary materials characterizations in deep space exploration missions. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) already deployed two Raman instruments, Super Cam and SHERLOC, onboard the Perseverance Rover in the Mars 2020 mission. In the ground test, the SHERLOC team found an axial offset (~720 μm) between the ACI (Autofocus Context Imager) and the spectrometer focus, which would obviously affect the acquired Raman intensity if not corrected. To eliminate this error and, more importantly, simplify the application of Raman instruments in deep space exploration missions, we propose an automatic focusing method wherein Raman signals are optimized during spectrum collection. We put forward a novel method that is realized by evaluating focus conditions numerically and searching for the extremum point as the final focal point. To verify the effectiveness of this method, we developed an Auto-focus Raman Probe (SDU-ARP) in our laboratory. This method provides a research direction for scenarios in which spectrometers cannot focus on a target using any other criterion. The utilization of this auto-focusing method can offer better spectra and fewer acquisitions in focusing procedure, and the spectrometer payload can be deployed in light-weight bodies (e.g., asteroids) or in poor illumination conditions (e.g., the permanently shadowed region in the Lunar south polar area) in deep space exploration missions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser and Optical Remote Sensing for Planetary Exploration)
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23 pages, 9419 KiB  
Article
A Space Target Detection Method Based on Spatial–Temporal Local Registration in Complicated Backgrounds
by Yueqi Su, Xin Chen, Chen Cang, Fenghong Li and Peng Rao
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(4), 669; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16040669 - 13 Feb 2024
Viewed by 413
Abstract
Human space exploration has brought a growing crowded operating environment for in-orbit spacecraft. Monitoring the space environment and detecting space targets with photoelectric equipment has extensive and realistic significance in space safety. In this study, a local spatial–temporal registration (LSTR) method is proposed [...] Read more.
Human space exploration has brought a growing crowded operating environment for in-orbit spacecraft. Monitoring the space environment and detecting space targets with photoelectric equipment has extensive and realistic significance in space safety. In this study, a local spatial–temporal registration (LSTR) method is proposed to detect moving small targets in space. Firstly, we applied the local region registration to estimate the neighbor background motion model. Secondly, we analyzed the temporal local grayscale difference between the strong clutter and target region and measured the temporal local–central region difference to enhance the target. Then, the temporal pixel contrast map was calculated, which further retains the target signal and suppresses the residue clutter. Finally, a simple adaptive threshold segmentation algorithm was applied to the saliency map to segment the targets. Comparative experiments were conducted on four groups of image sequences to validate the efficiency and robustness of the algorithm. The experimental findings indicate that the proposed method performs well in target enhancement and clutter suppression under different scenarios. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser and Optical Remote Sensing for Planetary Exploration)
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17 pages, 10763 KiB  
Article
YOLO-Crater Model for Small Crater Detection
by Lingli Mu, Lina Xian, Lihong Li, Gang Liu, Mi Chen and Wei Zhang
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(20), 5040; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15205040 - 20 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1373
Abstract
Craters are the most prominent geomorphological features on the surface of celestial bodies, which plays a crucial role in studying the formation and evolution of celestial bodies as well as in landing and planning for surface exploration. Currently, the main automatic crater detection [...] Read more.
Craters are the most prominent geomorphological features on the surface of celestial bodies, which plays a crucial role in studying the formation and evolution of celestial bodies as well as in landing and planning for surface exploration. Currently, the main automatic crater detection models and datasets focus on the detection of large and medium craters. In this paper, we created 23 small lunar crater datasets for model training based on the Chang’E-2 (CE-2) DOM, DEM, Slope, and integrated data with 7 kinds of visualization stretching methods. Then, we proposed the YOLO-Crater model for Lunar and Martian small crater detection by replacing EioU and VariFocal loss to solve the crater sample imbalance problem and introducing a CBAM attention mechanism to mitigate interference from the complex extraterrestrial environment. The results show that the accuracy (P = 87.86%, R = 66.04%, and F1 = 75.41%) of the Lunar YOLO-Crater model based on the DOM-MMS (Maximum-Minimum Stretching) dataset is the highest and better than that of the YOLOX model. The Martian YOLO-Crater, trained by the Martian dataset from the 2022 GeoAI Martian Challenge, achieves good performance with P = 88.37%, R = 69.25%, and F1 = 77.65%. It indicates that the YOLO-Crater model has strong transferability and generalization capability, which can be applied to detect small craters on the Moon and other celestial bodies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser and Optical Remote Sensing for Planetary Exploration)
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13 pages, 2698 KiB  
Communication
Pilot Study of Low-Light Enhanced Terrain Mapping for Robotic Exploration in Lunar PSRs
by Jae-Min Park, Sungchul Hong and Hyu-Soung Shin
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(13), 3412; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15133412 - 05 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 990
Abstract
The recent discovery of water ice in the lunar polar shadowed regions (PSRs) has driven interest in robotic exploration, due to its potential utilization to generate water, oxygen, and hydrogen that would enable sustainable human exploration in the future. However, the absence of [...] Read more.
The recent discovery of water ice in the lunar polar shadowed regions (PSRs) has driven interest in robotic exploration, due to its potential utilization to generate water, oxygen, and hydrogen that would enable sustainable human exploration in the future. However, the absence of direct sunlight in the PSRs poses a significant challenge for the robotic operation to obtain clear images, consequently impacting crucial tasks such as obstacle avoidance, pathfinding, and scientific investigation. In this regard, this study proposes a visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)-based robotic mapping approach that combines dense mapping and low-light image enhancement (LLIE) methods. The proposed approach was experimentally examined and validated in an environment that simulated the lighting conditions of the PSRs. The mapping results show that the LLIE method leverages scattered low light to enhance the quality and clarity of terrain images, resulting in an overall improvement of the rover’s perception and mapping capabilities in low-light environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser and Optical Remote Sensing for Planetary Exploration)
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26 pages, 4823 KiB  
Article
Investigation into the Affect of Chemometrics and Spectral Data Preprocessing Approaches upon Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Quantification Accuracy Based on MarSCoDe Laboratory Model and MarSDEEP Equipment
by Ziyi Liu, Luning Li, Weiming Xu, Xuesen Xu, Zhicheng Cui, Liangchen Jia, Wenhao Lv, Zhihui Shen and Rong Shu
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(13), 3311; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15133311 - 28 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1056
Abstract
As part of China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission, the Mars Surface Composition Detector (MarSCoDe) instrument on the Zhurong rover adopts laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to perform chemical component detection of the materials on the Martian surface. However, it has always been a challenging issue [...] Read more.
As part of China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission, the Mars Surface Composition Detector (MarSCoDe) instrument on the Zhurong rover adopts laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to perform chemical component detection of the materials on the Martian surface. However, it has always been a challenging issue to achieve high accuracy in LIBS quantification. This study investigated the effect of chemometrics and spectral data preprocessing approaches on LIBS quantification accuracy based on different chemometrics algorithms and diverse preprocessing methods. A total of 2340 LIBS spectra were collected from 39 kinds of geochemical samples by a laboratory duplicate model of the MarSCoDe instrument. The samples and the MarSCoDe laboratory model were placed in a simulated Martian atmosphere environment based on equipment called the Mars-Simulated Detection Environment Experiment Platform (MarSDEEP). To quantify the concentration of MgO in the samples, we employed two common LIBS chemometrics; i.e., partial least squares (PLS) and a back-propagation neural network (BPNN). Meanwhile, in addition to necessary routine preprocessing such as dark subtraction, we used five specific preprocessing approaches, namely intensity normalization, baseline removal, Mg-peak wavelength correction, Mg-peak feature engineering, and concentration range reduction. The results indicated that the performance of the BPNN was better than that of the PLS and that the preprocessing of Mg-peak wavelength correction had the most prominent effect to improve the quantification accuracy. The results of this study are expected to provide inspiration for the processing and analysis of the in situ LIBS data acquired by MarSCoDe on Mars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser and Optical Remote Sensing for Planetary Exploration)
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21 pages, 8599 KiB  
Article
Passive 3D Imaging Method Based on Photonics Integrated Interference Computational Imaging System
by Ben Ge, Qinghua Yu, Jialiang Chen and Shengli Sun
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(9), 2333; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15092333 - 28 Apr 2023
Viewed by 801
Abstract
Planetary, lunar, and deep space exploration has become the frontier of remote sensing science, and three-dimensional (3D) positioning imaging technology is an important part of lunar and deep space exploration. This paper presents a novel passive 3D imaging method based on the photonics [...] Read more.
Planetary, lunar, and deep space exploration has become the frontier of remote sensing science, and three-dimensional (3D) positioning imaging technology is an important part of lunar and deep space exploration. This paper presents a novel passive 3D imaging method based on the photonics integrated interference computational imaging system. This method uses a photonics integrated interference imaging system with a complex lens array. The midpoints of the interference baselines formed by these lenses are not completely overlapped. The distance between the optical axis and the two lenses of the interference baseline are not equal. The system is used to obtain the complex coherence factor of the object space at a limited working distance, and the image evaluation optimization algorithm is used to obtain the clear images and 3D information of the targets of interest. The simulation results show that this method is effective for the working scenes with targets located at single or multiple limited working distances. The sharpness evaluation function of the target presents a good unimodality near its actual distance. The experimental results of the interference of broad-spectrum light show that the theoretical basis of this method is feasible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser and Optical Remote Sensing for Planetary Exploration)
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19 pages, 21341 KiB  
Article
A Phase Difference Measurement Method for Integrated Optical Interferometric Imagers
by Jialiang Chen, Qinghua Yu, Ben Ge, Chuang Zhang, Yan He and Shengli Sun
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(8), 2194; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15082194 - 21 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1491
Abstract
Interferometric imagers based on integrated optics have the advantages of miniaturization and low cost compared with traditional telescope imaging systems and are expected to be applied in the field of space target detection. Phase measurement of the complex coherence factor is crucial for [...] Read more.
Interferometric imagers based on integrated optics have the advantages of miniaturization and low cost compared with traditional telescope imaging systems and are expected to be applied in the field of space target detection. Phase measurement of the complex coherence factor is crucial for the image reconstruction of interferometric imaging technology. This study discovers the effect of the phase of the complex coherence factor on the extrema of the interference fringes in the interferometric imager and proposes a method for calculating the phase difference of the complex coherence factor of two interference signals by comparing the extrema of the interferometric fringes in the area of approximate linear change in the envelope shape to obtain the phase information required for imaging. Experiments using two interferometric signals with a phase difference of π were conducted to verify the validity and feasibility of the phase difference measurement method. Compared with the existing phase measurement methods, this method does not need to calibrate the position of the zero optical path difference and can be applied to the integrated optical interferometric imager using a single-mode fiber, which also allows the imager to work in a more flexible way. The theoretical phase measurement accuracy of this method is higher than 0.05 π, which meets the image reconstruction requirements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser and Optical Remote Sensing for Planetary Exploration)
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16 pages, 4674 KiB  
Technical Note
Multi-Aperture Joint-Encoding Fourier Ptychography for a Distributed System
by Tianyu Wang, Meng Xiang, Fei Liu, Jinpeng Liu, Xue Dong, Sen Wang, Gang Li and Xiaopeng Shao
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(6), 1017; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16061017 - 13 Mar 2024
Viewed by 453
Abstract
High-resolution infrared remote sensing imaging is critical in planetary exploration, especially under demanding engineering conditions. However, due to diffraction, the spatial resolution of conventional methods is relatively low, and the spatial bandwidth product limits imaging systems’ design. Extensive research has been conducted with [...] Read more.
High-resolution infrared remote sensing imaging is critical in planetary exploration, especially under demanding engineering conditions. However, due to diffraction, the spatial resolution of conventional methods is relatively low, and the spatial bandwidth product limits imaging systems’ design. Extensive research has been conducted with the aim of enhancing spatial resolution in remote sensing using a multi-aperture structure, but obtaining high-precision co-phase results using a sub-aperture remains challenging. A new high-resolution imaging method utilizing multi-aperture joint-encoding Fourier ptychography (JEFP) is proposed as a practical means to achieve super-resolution infrared imaging using distributed platforms. We demonstrated that the JEFP approach achieves pixel super-resolution with high efficiency, without requiring subsystems to perform mechanical scanning in space or to have high position accuracy. Our JEFP approach extends the application scope of Fourier ptychographic imaging, especially in distributed platforms for planetary exploration applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser and Optical Remote Sensing for Planetary Exploration)
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