Cartography and mapping are at this time the only means to conduct basic geoscientific studies (on planetary surfaces). The field of Planetary Cartography and Mapping has been stepping out of its niche existence in the last 15 years due to the availability of an unprecedented amount of new data from various planetary exploration missions from different countries and the advent of internet technology that allows to manage, process, distribute, analyze, and collaborate efficiently. Geospatial information system technology plays a pivotal role in this process and essentially all planetary surface science research in this field benefits from this technology and frequent new developments.
With the availability of data and connection, however, comes the challenge of organizing and structuring available data and research, such as maps and newly derived and refined (base) data that is about to enter its new research life cycle.
This session welcomes presentations covering planetary data and its development into cartographic products and maps. This covers aspects of data archival, dissemination, structuring, analyzing, filtering, visualizing, collaboration, and map compilation but is not limited to these topics.
It should also be emphasized that the exchange of knowledge and experiences from the Earth Sciences would be highly beneficial for the Planetary Data Sciences.