Mapping out the Moon and Mars at Constructor University
Landing on distant planets isn’t possible without maps: In a week-long Winter School, Constructor University in Bremen imparted basic knowledge on how to create high-quality planetary cartography. The interest in the digital training was immense: more than 400 students and young scientists from all over the world participated. It was organized by Dr. Angelo Pio Rossi, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and his team.
By holding its third Winter School on the topic, Constructor University cemented its reputation as one of the centers for planetary geologic mapping in Europe. Among the lecturers were not only scientists from the private university, but also from the European Space Agency, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the United States Geological Survey as well as several partners across Europe from the Europlanet Research Infrastructure.
Most of the participants came from India, Italy, China and the United States. Their number has doubled compared to the first winter school two years ago. "This proves the great international interest in this topic," said Rossi. "Mapping is crucial to many planetary exploration activities."
The hands-on school was primarily devoted to creating geological maps of Moon and Mars, placing an emphasis on the characterization of landing sites. They must allow safe landing of rovers, be trafficable, and permit the fulfillment of scientific objectives.
In particular, geologic maps provide information on the distribution of rocks and deposits in the area, their ages, and the geologic evolution and subsurface geometry of the rock bodies. The more data available about an area, the better the maps. For this, machine learning techniques play an increasingly important role. The lecturers even looked far beyond the Moon and Mars, to Venus and Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn. However, according to Rossi, the latter are not yet relevant for human exploration.
More information on the Winter School:
https://www.planetarymapping.eu
Questions answered by:
Angelo Pio Rossi | Professor for Earth and Planetary Sciences
anrossi@constructor.university | Tel.: +49 421 200-3153
About Constructor University:
An international community, vibrant and diverse. Offering academic excellence, ensuring the highest standards in research and teaching. Empowering students to solve the world's pressing challenges through knowledge and science: Constructor University is a top-ranked, English-speaking, private university. Founded in 2001, it provides a wide range of 25+ academic programs and PhD. The Constructor ecosystem comprises the University, located in Bremen, Germany, and an institute in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
Over 1.800 students from more than 110 nations on campus benefit from a unique interdisciplinary, foundational theoretical and practical education. Enriched with a buzzing entrepreneurial culture that prepares young professionals to thrive in the job market. With 6.000+ alumni worldwide, our community keeps growing – with our highest cohort ever registered in 2022.
The research-centric faculty projects are funded by the German Research Foundation and the European Union's Framework Program for Research and Innovation as well as by globally leading companies.
The Constructor ecosystem benefits from partnerships with high-ranked universities such as Carnegie Mellon, the University of Geneva or the National University of Singapore School of Computing, and technology companies such as Anisoprint, JetBrains and ChemDiv.
Constructor is a global institution dedicated to addressing the main challenges of the world through science, education, and technology. Apart from the University, the ecosystem relies on several for-profit entities that provide technology infrastructures and solutions, life-long education programs, consulting services, and funding: Alemira by Constructor, Rolos by Constructor, Constructor Learning and Constructor Capital.
Contact:
Maike Lempka | Corporate Communications
presse@constructor.university | Tel.: +49 421 200-4504