Not listed SPECTROSCOPY OF SALT-BEARING MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES PROPOSAL OBJECTIVES: WE PROPOSE TWO TASKS TO CONSTRAIN THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND COMPOSITION OF CHLORIDE SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE THE DETECTION LIMITS OF PHYLLOSILICATES CARBONATES SULFATES NITRATES AND PERCHLORATES IN HALITE/LABRADORITE MIXTURES. THESE TASKS WILL (1) IMPROVE OUR ABILITY TO INTERPRET REMOTE SENSING DATA OF SALT-BEARING SURFACES ON MARS AND ASSESS THE FORMATION MECHANISM(S) FOR THIS IMPORTANT CLASS OF DEPOSITS AND (2) PROVIDE A DIRECT COMPARISON OF SEVERAL SCATTERING MODELS THAT WILL INFORM FUTURE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF VISIBLE/NEAR-INFRARED (VNIR) AND MID-INFRARED (MIR) REMOTE SENSING DATA. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO CONSTRAIN THE COMPOSITION OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE WHAT ADDITIONAL EVAPORITE MINERALS AND/OR CHEMICAL WEATHERING PRODUCTS MAY BE PRESENT IN THESE DEPOSITS. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW DEPOSITS (E. G. AUTHOR) THAT ARE ASSOCIATED (BUT APPARENTLY NOT INTIMATELY MIXED) WITH FE/MG PHYLLOSILICATE PHASES SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS APPEAR TO BE TWO-COMPONENT MIXTURES OF CHLORIDE SALT AND THE REGIONAL SILICATE REGOLITH. THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO TERRESTRIAL PLAYAS DESERTS AND DRY LAKES WHERE HALIDE SALTS AND SILICATES ARE OFTEN MIXED OR LAYERED WITH VARIOUS OTHER PHASES (E.G. DEATH VALLEY AND ATACAMA DESERT). THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF MINOR PHASES HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THESE DEPOSITS AS WELL AS THE PAST HABITABILITY AND ASTROBIOLOGICAL PRESERVATION POTENTIAL OF THESE ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE INTRIGUING MARTIAN PALEOENVIRONMENTS BY EMPLOYING DETAILED AND SYSTEMATIC LABORATORY AND THEORETICAL SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF A SUITE OF MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES TO CONSTRAIN THE INTERPRETATION OF MARTIAN REMOTE SENSING DATA. METHODS: IN TASK 1 WE WILL ACQUIRE VNIR (0.35-2.5 M) REFLECTANCE AND MIR (5-100 M 100-2000 CM-1) EMISSIVITY SPECTRA IN PURGED ENVIRONMENTS OF A SUITE OF SAMPLES SELECTED TO DETERMINE THE SPECTRAL FEATURES AND DETECTION LIMITS OF CLAYS CARBONATES SULFATES NITRATES AND PERCHLORATES MIXED WITH BASALT AND HALITE. SAMPLES WILL BE THREE AND FOUR-COMPONENT MIXTURES WITH VARIATIONS IN THE GRAIN SIZE AND THE ABUNDANCE OF EACH PHASE. IN TASK 2 WE WILL MODEL THE VNIR REFLECTANCE AND MIR EMISSIVITY SPECTRA OF THESE THREE COMPONENT SYSTEMS USING THREE SEPARATE TECHNIQUES(1) HAPKE MODELS OF BIDIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE AND HEMISPHERICAL EMISSIVITY (2) SHKURATOVS MODEL OF SPECTRAL ALBEDO AND (3) A HYBRID T-MATRIX/HAPKE MODELTO PROVIDE DIRECT COMPARISONS TO LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS AND EVALUATE THE CAPABILITIES OF EACH METHOD TO REPRODUCE LABORATORY SPECTRA. RELEVENCE: THE PROPOSED WORK IS RELEVANT TO SSW BECAUSE IT ADDRESSES THE PROGRAMS GOAL TO CHARACTERIZE AND UNDERSTAND THE CHEMICAL MINERALOGICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES OF PLANETARY SURFACES AND [D]EVELOP THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BASES FOR UNDERSTANDING THESE FEATURES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE VARYING CONDITIONS THROUGH TIME AFTER FORMATION. THEMIS TES CRISM AND OMEGA HAVE PROVIDED COMPELLING EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENCE OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS. THIS INVESTIGATION WILL PROVIDE KEY CONSTRAINTS ON THE VNIR AND MIR SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF THESE AREAS AND ADDRESS THE PLANETARY DECADAL SURVEYS KEY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE SEARCH FOR PAST HABITABLE ENVIRONMENTS ON MARS. ($7k) 6/22/20 4 SPECTROSCOPY OF SALT-BEARING MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES PROPOSAL OBJECTIVES: WE PROPOSE TWO TASKS TO CONSTRAIN THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND COMPOSITION OF CHLORIDE SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE THE DETECTION LIMITS OF PHYLLOSILICATES, CARBONATES, SULFATES, NITRATES, AND PERCHLORATES IN HALITE/LABRADORITE MIXTURES. THESE TASKS WILL (1) IMPROVE OUR ABILITY TO INTERPRET REMOTE SENSING DATA OF SALT-BEARING SURFACES ON MARS AND ASSESS THE FORMATION MECHANISM(S) FOR THIS IMPORTANT CLASS OF DEPOSITS, AND (2) PROVIDE A DIRECT COMPARISON OF SEVERAL SCATTERING MODELS THAT WILL INFORM FUTURE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF VISIBLE/NEAR-INFRARED (VNIR) AND MID-INFRARED (MIR) REMOTE SENSING DATA. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO CONSTRAIN THE COMPOSITION OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE WHAT ADDITIONAL EVAPORITE MINERALS AND/OR CHEMICAL WEATHERING PRODUCTS MAY BE PRESENT IN THESE DEPOSITS. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW DEPOSITS (E. G. AUTHOR) THAT ARE ASSOCIATED (BUT APPARENTLY NOT INTIMATELY MIXED) WITH FE/MG PHYLLOSILICATE PHASES, SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS APPEAR TO BE TWO-COMPONENT MIXTURES OF CHLORIDE SALT AND THE REGIONAL SILICATE REGOLITH. THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO TERRESTRIAL PLAYAS, DESERTS, AND DRY LAKES, WHERE HALIDE SALTS AND SILICATES ARE OFTEN MIXED OR LAYERED WITH VARIOUS OTHER PHASES (E.G., DEATH VALLEY AND ATACAMA DESERT). THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF MINOR PHASES HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THESE DEPOSITS AS WELL AS THE PAST HABITABILITY AND ASTROBIOLOGICAL PRESERVATION POTENTIAL OF THESE ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE INTRIGUING MARTIAN PALEOENVIRONMENTS BY EMPLOYING DETAILED AND SYSTEMATIC LABORATORY AND THEORETICAL SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF A SUITE OF MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES TO CONSTRAIN THE INTERPRETATION OF MARTIAN REMOTE SENSING DATA. METHODS: IN TASK 1, WE WILL ACQUIRE VNIR (0.35-2.5 M) REFLECTANCE AND MIR (5-100 M 100-2000 CM-1) EMISSIVITY SPECTRA IN PURGED ENVIRONMENTS OF A SUITE OF SAMPLES SELECTED TO DETERMINE THE SPECTRAL FEATURES AND DETECTION LIMITS OF CLAYS, CARBONATES, SULFATES, NITRATES, AND PERCHLORATES MIXED WITH BASALT AND HALITE. SAMPLES WILL BE THREE AND FOUR-COMPONENT MIXTURES WITH VARIATIONS IN THE GRAIN SIZE AND THE ABUNDANCE OF EACH PHASE. IN TASK 2, WE WILL MODEL THE VNIR REFLECTANCE AND MIR EMISSIVITY SPECTRA OF THESE THREE COMPONENT SYSTEMS USING THREE SEPARATE TECHNIQUES(1) HAPKE MODELS OF BIDIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE AND HEMISPHERICAL EMISSIVITY, (2) SHKURATOVS MODEL OF SPECTRAL ALBEDO, AND (3) A HYBRID T-MATRIX/HAPKE MODELTO PROVIDE DIRECT COMPARISONS TO LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS AND EVALUATE THE CAPABILITIES OF EACH METHOD TO REPRODUCE LABORATORY SPECTRA. RELEVENCE: THE PROPOSED WORK IS RELEVANT TO SSW BECAUSE IT ADDRESSES THE PROGRAMS GOAL TO CHARACTERIZE AND UNDERSTAND THE CHEMICAL, MINERALOGICAL, AND PHYSICAL FEATURES OF PLANETARY SURFACES AND [D]EVELOP THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BASES FOR UNDERSTANDING THESE FEATURES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE VARYING CONDITIONS THROUGH TIME AFTER FORMATION. THEMIS, TES, CRISM, AND OMEGA HAVE PROVIDED COMPELLING EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENCE OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS. THIS INVESTIGATION WILL PROVIDE KEY CONSTRAINTS ON THE VNIR AND MIR SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF THESE AREAS AND ADDRESS THE PLANETARY DECADAL SURVEYS KEY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE SEARCH FOR PAST HABITABLE ENVIRONMENTS ON MARS. Funding Only Action ($7k) 6/22/20 Not listed SPECTROSCOPY OF SALT-BEARING MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES PROPOSAL OBJECTIVES: WE PROPOSE TWO TASKS TO CONSTRAIN THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND COMPOSITION OF CHLORIDE SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE THE DETECTION LIMITS OF PHYLLOSILICATES CARBONATES SULFATES NITRATES AND PERCHLORATES IN HALITE/LABRADORITE MIXTURES. THESE TASKS WILL (1) IMPROVE OUR ABILITY TO INTERPRET REMOTE SENSING DATA OF SALT-BEARING SURFACES ON MARS AND ASSESS THE FORMATION MECHANISM(S) FOR THIS IMPORTANT CLASS OF DEPOSITS AND (2) PROVIDE A DIRECT COMPARISON OF SEVERAL SCATTERING MODELS THAT WILL INFORM FUTURE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF VISIBLE/NEAR-INFRARED (VNIR) AND MID-INFRARED (MIR) REMOTE SENSING DATA. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO CONSTRAIN THE COMPOSITION OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE WHAT ADDITIONAL EVAPORITE MINERALS AND/OR CHEMICAL WEATHERING PRODUCTS MAY BE PRESENT IN THESE DEPOSITS. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW DEPOSITS (E. G. AUTHOR) THAT ARE ASSOCIATED (BUT APPARENTLY NOT INTIMATELY MIXED) WITH FE/MG PHYLLOSILICATE PHASES SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS APPEAR TO BE TWO-COMPONENT MIXTURES OF CHLORIDE SALT AND THE REGIONAL SILICATE REGOLITH. THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO TERRESTRIAL PLAYAS DESERTS AND DRY LAKES WHERE HALIDE SALTS AND SILICATES ARE OFTEN MIXED OR LAYERED WITH VARIOUS OTHER PHASES (E.G. DEATH VALLEY AND ATACAMA DESERT). THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF MINOR PHASES HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THESE DEPOSITS AS WELL AS THE PAST HABITABILITY AND ASTROBIOLOGICAL PRESERVATION POTENTIAL OF THESE ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE INTRIGUING MARTIAN PALEOENVIRONMENTS BY EMPLOYING DETAILED AND SYSTEMATIC LABORATORY AND THEORETICAL SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF A SUITE OF MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES TO CONSTRAIN THE INTERPRETATION OF MARTIAN REMOTE SENSING DATA. METHODS: IN TASK 1 WE WILL ACQUIRE VNIR (0.35-2.5 M) REFLECTANCE AND MIR (5-100 M; 100-2000 CM-1) EMISSIVITY SPECTRA IN PURGED ENVIRONMENTS OF A SUITE OF SAMPLES SELECTED TO DETERMINE THE SPECTRAL FEATURES AND DETECTION LIMITS OF CLAYS CARBONATES SULFATES NITRATES AND PERCHLORATES MIXED WITH BASALT AND HALITE. SAMPLES WILL BE THREE AND FOUR-COMPONENT MIXTURES WITH VARIATIONS IN THE GRAIN SIZE AND THE ABUNDANCE OF EACH PHASE. IN TASK 2 WE WILL MODEL THE VNIR REFLECTANCE AND MIR EMISSIVITY SPECTRA OF THESE THREE COMPONENT SYSTEMS USING THREE SEPARATE TECHNIQUES(1) HAPKE MODELS OF BIDIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE AND HEMISPHERICAL EMISSIVITY (2) SHKURATOVS MODEL OF SPECTRAL ALBEDO AND (3) A HYBRID T-MATRIX/HAPKE MODELTO PROVIDE DIRECT COMPARISONS TO LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS AND EVALUATE THE CAPABILITIES OF EACH METHOD TO REPRODUCE LABORATORY SPECTRA. RELEVENCE: THE PROPOSED WORK IS RELEVANT TO SSW BECAUSE IT ADDRESSES THE PROGRAMS GOAL TO CHARACTERIZE AND UNDERSTAND THE CHEMICAL MINERALOGICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES OF PLANETARY SURFACES AND [D]EVELOP THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BASES FOR UNDERSTANDING THESE FEATURES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE VARYING CONDITIONS THROUGH TIME AFTER FORMATION. THEMIS TES CRISM AND OMEGA HAVE PROVIDED COMPELLING EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENCE OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS. THIS INVESTIGATION WILL PROVIDE KEY CONSTRAINTS ON THE VNIR AND MIR SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF THESE AREAS AND ADDRESS THE PLANETARY DECADAL SURVEYS KEY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE SEARCH FOR PAST HABITABLE ENVIRONMENTS ON MARS. $0 8/3/18 3 SPECTROSCOPY OF SALT-BEARING MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES PROPOSAL OBJECTIVES: WE PROPOSE TWO TASKS TO CONSTRAIN THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND COMPOSITION OF CHLORIDE SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE THE DETECTION LIMITS OF PHYLLOSILICATES, CARBONATES, SULFATES, NITRATES, AND PERCHLORATES IN HALITE/LABRADORITE MIXTURES. THESE TASKS WILL (1) IMPROVE OUR ABILITY TO INTERPRET REMOTE SENSING DATA OF SALT-BEARING SURFACES ON MARS AND ASSESS THE FORMATION MECHANISM(S) FOR THIS IMPORTANT CLASS OF DEPOSITS, AND (2) PROVIDE A DIRECT COMPARISON OF SEVERAL SCATTERING MODELS THAT WILL INFORM FUTURE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF VISIBLE/NEAR-INFRARED (VNIR) AND MID-INFRARED (MIR) REMOTE SENSING DATA. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO CONSTRAIN THE COMPOSITION OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE WHAT ADDITIONAL EVAPORITE MINERALS AND/OR CHEMICAL WEATHERING PRODUCTS MAY BE PRESENT IN THESE DEPOSITS. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW DEPOSITS (E. G. AUTHOR) THAT ARE ASSOCIATED (BUT APPARENTLY NOT INTIMATELY MIXED) WITH FE/MG PHYLLOSILICATE PHASES, SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS APPEAR TO BE TWO-COMPONENT MIXTURES OF CHLORIDE SALT AND THE REGIONAL SILICATE REGOLITH. THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO TERRESTRIAL PLAYAS, DESERTS, AND DRY LAKES, WHERE HALIDE SALTS AND SILICATES ARE OFTEN MIXED OR LAYERED WITH VARIOUS OTHER PHASES (E.G., DEATH VALLEY AND ATACAMA DESERT). THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF MINOR PHASES HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THESE DEPOSITS AS WELL AS THE PAST HABITABILITY AND ASTROBIOLOGICAL PRESERVATION POTENTIAL OF THESE ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE INTRIGUING MARTIAN PALEOENVIRONMENTS BY EMPLOYING DETAILED AND SYSTEMATIC LABORATORY AND THEORETICAL SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF A SUITE OF MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES TO CONSTRAIN THE INTERPRETATION OF MARTIAN REMOTE SENSING DATA. METHODS: IN TASK 1, WE WILL ACQUIRE VNIR (0.35-2.5 M) REFLECTANCE AND MIR (5-100 M; 100-2000 CM-1) EMISSIVITY SPECTRA IN PURGED ENVIRONMENTS OF A SUITE OF SAMPLES SELECTED TO DETERMINE THE SPECTRAL FEATURES AND DETECTION LIMITS OF CLAYS, CARBONATES, SULFATES, NITRATES, AND PERCHLORATES MIXED WITH BASALT AND HALITE. SAMPLES WILL BE THREE AND FOUR-COMPONENT MIXTURES WITH VARIATIONS IN THE GRAIN SIZE AND THE ABUNDANCE OF EACH PHASE. IN TASK 2, WE WILL MODEL THE VNIR REFLECTANCE AND MIR EMISSIVITY SPECTRA OF THESE THREE COMPONENT SYSTEMS USING THREE SEPARATE TECHNIQUES(1) HAPKE MODELS OF BIDIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE AND HEMISPHERICAL EMISSIVITY, (2) SHKURATOVS MODEL OF SPECTRAL ALBEDO, AND (3) A HYBRID T-MATRIX/HAPKE MODELTO PROVIDE DIRECT COMPARISONS TO LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS AND EVALUATE THE CAPABILITIES OF EACH METHOD TO REPRODUCE LABORATORY SPECTRA. RELEVENCE: THE PROPOSED WORK IS RELEVANT TO SSW BECAUSE IT ADDRESSES THE PROGRAMS GOAL TO CHARACTERIZE AND UNDERSTAND THE CHEMICAL, MINERALOGICAL, AND PHYSICAL FEATURES OF PLANETARY SURFACES AND [D]EVELOP THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BASES FOR UNDERSTANDING THESE FEATURES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE VARYING CONDITIONS THROUGH TIME AFTER FORMATION. THEMIS, TES, CRISM, AND OMEGA HAVE PROVIDED COMPELLING EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENCE OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS. THIS INVESTIGATION WILL PROVIDE KEY CONSTRAINTS ON THE VNIR AND MIR SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF THESE AREAS AND ADDRESS THE PLANETARY DECADAL SURVEYS KEY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE SEARCH FOR PAST HABITABLE ENVIRONMENTS ON MARS. Other Administrative Action $0 8/3/18 Not listed SPECTROSCOPY OF SALT-BEARING MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES PROPOSAL OBJECTIVES: WE PROPOSE TWO TASKS TO CONSTRAIN THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND COMPOSITION OF CHLORIDE SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE THE DETECTION LIMITS OF PHYLLOSILICATES CARBONATES SULFATES NITRATES AND PERCHLORATES IN HALITE/LABRADORITE MIXTURES. THESE TASKS WILL (1) IMPROVE OUR ABILITY TO INTERPRET REMOTE SENSING DATA OF SALT-BEARING SURFACES ON MARS AND ASSESS THE FORMATION MECHANISM(S) FOR THIS IMPORTANT CLASS OF DEPOSITS AND (2) PROVIDE A DIRECT COMPARISON OF SEVERAL SCATTERING MODELS THAT WILL INFORM FUTURE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF VISIBLE/NEAR-INFRARED (VNIR) AND MID-INFRARED (MIR) REMOTE SENSING DATA. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO CONSTRAIN THE COMPOSITION OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS AND DETERMINE WHAT ADDITIONAL EVAPORITE MINERALS AND/OR CHEMICAL WEATHERING PRODUCTS MAY BE PRESENT IN THESE DEPOSITS. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW DEPOSITS (E. G. AUTHOR) THAT ARE ASSOCIATED (BUT APPARENTLY NOT INTIMATELY MIXED) WITH FE/MG PHYLLOSILICATE PHASES SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS APPEAR TO BE TWO-COMPONENT MIXTURES OF CHLORIDE SALT AND THE REGIONAL SILICATE REGOLITH. THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO TERRESTRIAL PLAYAS DESERTS AND DRY LAKES WHERE HALIDE SALTS AND SILICATES ARE OFTEN MIXED OR LAYERED WITH VARIOUS OTHER PHASES (E.G. DEATH VALLEY AND ATACAMA DESERT). THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF MINOR PHASES HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THESE DEPOSITS AS WELL AS THE PAST HABITABILITY AND ASTROBIOLOGICAL PRESERVATION POTENTIAL OF THESE ENVIRONMENTS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL INCREASE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE INTRIGUING MARTIAN PALEOENVIRONMENTS BY EMPLOYING DETAILED AND SYSTEMATIC LABORATORY AND THEORETICAL SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF A SUITE OF MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES TO CONSTRAIN THE INTERPRETATION OF MARTIAN REMOTE SENSING DATA. METHODS: IN TASK 1 WE WILL ACQUIRE VNIR (0.35-2.5 M) REFLECTANCE AND MIR (5-100 M; 100-2000 CM-1) EMISSIVITY SPECTRA IN PURGED ENVIRONMENTS OF A SUITE OF SAMPLES SELECTED TO DETERMINE THE SPECTRAL FEATURES AND DETECTION LIMITS OF CLAYS CARBONATES SULFATES NITRATES AND PERCHLORATES MIXED WITH BASALT AND HALITE. SAMPLES WILL BE THREE AND FOUR-COMPONENT MIXTURES WITH VARIATIONS IN THE GRAIN SIZE AND THE ABUNDANCE OF EACH PHASE. IN TASK 2 WE WILL MODEL THE VNIR REFLECTANCE AND MIR EMISSIVITY SPECTRA OF THESE THREE COMPONENT SYSTEMS USING THREE SEPARATE TECHNIQUES(1) HAPKE MODELS OF BIDIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE AND HEMISPHERICAL EMISSIVITY (2) SHKURATOVS MODEL OF SPECTRAL ALBEDO AND (3) A HYBRID T-MATRIX/HAPKE MODELTO PROVIDE DIRECT COMPARISONS TO LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS AND EVALUATE THE CAPABILITIES OF EACH METHOD TO REPRODUCE LABORATORY SPECTRA. RELEVENCE: THE PROPOSED WORK IS RELEVANT TO SSW BECAUSE IT ADDRESSES THE PROGRAMS GOAL TO CHARACTERIZE AND UNDERSTAND THE CHEMICAL MINERALOGICAL AND PHYSICAL FEATURES OF PLANETARY SURFACES AND [D]EVELOP THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BASES FOR UNDERSTANDING THESE FEATURES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE VARYING CONDITIONS THROUGH TIME AFTER FORMATION. THEMIS TES CRISM AND OMEGA HAVE PROVIDED COMPELLING EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENCE OF SALT-BEARING DEPOSITS ON MARS. THIS INVESTIGATION WILL PROVIDE KEY CONSTRAINTS ON THE VNIR AND MIR SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF THESE AREAS AND ADDRESS THE PLANETARY DECADAL SURVEYS KEY QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE SEARCH FOR PAST HABITABLE ENVIRONMENTS ON MARS. $95.1k 8/25/17