Learning Objectives
- Use image evidence to infer cratering, surface age, geological process, and habitability context.
- Make measurements or classifications with explicit uncertainty.
- Separate direct evidence from model-dependent interpretation.
Preparation
- Review terrestrial planet and small-body lectures. Read relevant OpenStax solar-system chapters assigned by the instructor.
Materials and Data
- Instructor-provided planetary surface images
- Crater-count grid or digital annotation tool
- Planetary image source notes
Apparatus and Setup
- Provide two planetary surface images at comparable scale, plus one icy-moon or Mars image for habitability evidence.
- Supply scale bars or state that only relative crater density may be inferred.
- Give students a counting grid or digital annotation layer.
Procedure
- Inspect two planetary or moon surface images at comparable scale and resolution.
- Count craters in at least two equal-area regions and record obvious resurfacing features such as flows, tectonic cracks, smooth plains, or ejecta blankets.
- Classify each region as relatively older or younger and justify the classification.
- For one icy moon or Mars image, identify evidence relevant to past or present liquid environments.
- Record source, mission/instrument if supplied, scale, wavelength/color notes, and any processing caveats.
Measurement Record
Use this structure or an equivalent table in your lab notebook.
| image region | area | crater count | surface features | relative age | uncertainty/caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Analysis and Uncertainty
- Explain the crater-count assumption and one way it can fail.
- Distinguish surface observation from geological interpretation.
- Rank the strength of habitability evidence as weak, moderate, or strong, and justify the ranking.
Deliverables
- Annotated image or crater-count table
- Relative-age interpretation
- Habitability evidence paragraph
- Source/provenance note
Assessment Criteria
- Use of image evidence
- Crater-count reasoning
- Uncertainty and caveat handling
- Source/provenance documentation
References, Software, and Data Provenance
- NASA Solar System Exploration: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/
- NASA/JPL Photojournal image pages as assigned
- OpenStax Astronomy 2e solar-system chapters
Any additional dataset, image, or software source used by an instructor should be added to ../reference-log.md with source, access date, license or usage note, and processing steps.