Announcements of Opportunity
Related Pages 
SURF@JPL: Announcements of Opportunity
Announcements of Opportunity are posted by JPL technical staff for the SURF@JPL program. Each AO indicates whether or not it is open to non-Caltech students. If an AO is NOT open to non-Caltech students, please DO NOT contact the mentor.
Announcements of Opportunity are posted as they are received. Please check back regularly for new AO submissions!
**Students applying for JPL projects should complete a SURF@JPL application instead of a "regular" SURF application.
**Students pursuing opportunities at JPL must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.
<< Prev
Record
24 of
40
Next >>
Back To List
| Project: |
Change Detection on Enceladus
(JPL AO No. 14172)
|
||||||||
| Disciplines: | Planetary Science, Geological/Geophysical Engineering | ||||||||
| Mentor: |
Cynthia Phillips,
(JPL),
Cynthia.B.Phillips@jpl.nasa.gov, |
||||||||
| Background: |
Observations of Saturn’s small ice-covered moon Enceladus by the Voyager & Cassini missions revealed a surprisingly youthful surface and eventually provided evidence for present-day geyser-like activity on the satellite. For this project, we aim to determine if Enceladus experienced any detectable geological changes between the Voyager era and Cassini’s arrival in the Saturn system, or at any time during the Cassini mission. We seek to constrain if any geological changes, such as the growth of a fracture or the movement of a ridge, are visible on the surface of Enceladus. We also seek to determine if the moon’s icy shell experienced any motion due to nonsynchronous rotation (NSR), or true polar wander (TPW). The relatively long gap between Voyager images and Cassini, and the nearly 13 years Cassini spent in orbit around Saturn, may be enough to find differences between the data sets. If no changes or evidence for motion are found, we will still be able to set a lower limit on the modern period of NSR and an upper limit on the rate of geologic resurfacing. If changes are observed, it would be the first documentation of geological changes on an airless icy satellite and provide a crucial input for crater rate models, surface age determinations, and/or the tectonic and stress history of Enceladus. For this study we have 2 major objectives: Objective 1: Determine if any surface geological changes occurred between the time of the Voyager images and the Cassini mission, or during the Cassini mission. Objective 2: Determine if Enceladus experienced any nonsynchronous rotation or true polar wander between the time of the Voyager images and the Cassini mission. |
||||||||
| Description: | This work will use Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) images and Voyager ISS images. First, we will select appropriate image pairs for comparison. We will compare Cassini images to the same regions imaged by Voyager, for Cassini-Voyager image pairs. Additionally, we will use Cassini images of the same areas but taken at different times and analyze them for differences. We will match Cassini-Voyager and Cassini-Cassini image pairs as closely as possible in resolution, filter, and viewing and lighting geometry. We will first coregister and reproject each image pair, and then make precise measurements of observable surface features to look for changes in the size, shape, or brightness of features due to geologic activity, or changes in absolute feature location in a way consistent with NSR or TPW. This is the start of an ongoing project, and the intern will begin the process of selecting Cassini-Voyager image pairs and performing initial comparisons. | ||||||||
| References: | https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/overview/ | ||||||||
| Student Requirements: |
Interest in planetary geology - initial coursework in planetary science, geology, astronomy, or physics will be useful Basic computer skills - experience with a unix / linux environment will be useful but not required Image processing experience - image creation / editing / manipulation with programs like Adobe Photoshop will provide useful skills & background, though this internship will use professional image processing software such as USGS ISIS GIS experience such as with ArcGIS will provide useful skills & background, though this internship will not use GIS software and this experience is not required |
||||||||
| Location / Safety: | Project building and/or room locations: . Student will need special safety training: . | ||||||||
| Programs: |
This AO can be done under the following programs:
|
<< Prev Record 24 of 40 Next >> Back To List