Multiscale analysis of geophysical data in the framework of PRORIS and MARS-LAVA projects.

In the framework of the planetary missions, the human exploration of the Martian surface is becoming a priority. The pathway to Mars is rooted through the development of various space missions of increasing complexity, which will lead to a long-term and sustainable human presence on the Moon. The Moon is therefore an intermediate and fundamental step for testing most of the new technologies required for sustainable human exploration of deep space.

We here present an overview of two Italian National projects dedicated to the development of geophysical technologies for planetary exploration, including the “PROgramma di RIcerca Spaziale di base (PRORIS)” project, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) and whose management has been assigned to the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), and the “Martian Analysis of Resources and Structures: Lava tubes, neAr-surface ice and aquifers Visibility and Assessment (MARS-LAVA)” project, led by CNR and INAF.

The PRORIS project is mainly related to the Moon exploration with different activities for the development of methodologies and research prototypes, and the validation of the developed technologies in terrestrial analog environments. The MARS-LAVA project instead aims at developing, optimizing and testing a suite of geophysical sensors with high potential for Mars exploration, and to develop analysis techniques based on data fusion/integration and modeling, Both the projects involve the use of magnetometric and electromagnetic geophysical methods.

In this contribution,  we dedicate a particular focus to the multiscale analysis of magnetometric data for studying lava tubes, presenting the preliminary results of magnetometric surveys carried out at Italian lava tubes test-sites.

These results underline the potential of the multiscale analysis of magnetometric data in the framework of the planetary exploration and the challenges that need to be overcome.