Planetary Landscapes Analysis Based on Remote Sensing Images

Dear Colleagues,

In NASA’s mantra on the progression of planetary exploration, “Flyby, orbit, land, rove, return,” the first two—flyby and orbit—are the necessary first steps in determining the geology of a planet or small body from optical and infrared remote sensing. Initial reconnaissance missions such as Luna 3, Mariner IV, Pioneer Venus, Mariner 10, Voyager, New Horizons, and others used remote sensing to enable geoscientists to map and interpret the geology, geophysics, tectonics, and composition of planetary surfaces. Beyond first reconnaissance, continued optical and infrared mapping—such as from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Galileo, and Cassini—allow detailed scrutiny of geologic contexts and processes at a level of detail only rivaled by the relatively few landed planetary missions. Indeed, such remote sensing gives humanity the broadest geologic survey possible in the solar system and enables future surface geoscience exploration. Ultimately, such knowledge contextualizes Earth—which is a precious hand sample in the outcrop of the Solar System.

In this Special Issue of Remote Sensing, we invite you to share your expertise in using remote sensing to interpret the geology of planetary landscapes, whether from single-mission destinations such as Pluto, Charon, and Arrokoth, to the well- and repeatedly studied Mars. Contributions which use one planetary target to inform our understanding of another—the realm of comparative planetology—are especially encouraged, as are those that leverage analogous terrestrial geology.

Letter-length, long-form, and review articles are all appropriate. Examples of themes include but are not limited to geomorphology, geologic surface processes, tectonics, exploration, aeolian studies, geologic mapping, chronostratigraphy, and spectroscopy.

Dr. Kirby Runyon
Dr. Angela M. Dapremont
Dr. Alexandra Matiella-Novak
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.