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Our Mission

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[Photo: Aerial view of the USGS Flagstaff Field Center]
Flagstaff Field Center
Late 1990s before the start of construction on the Shoemaker Center for Astrogeology Building
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The mission of the USGS Astrogeology Research Program is to establish and maintain geoscientific and technical expertise in planetary science and remote sensing to perform the following tasks:

  • scientifically study and map extraterrestrial bodies,
  • plan and conduct planetary exploration missions, and
  • explore and develop new technologies in data processing and analysis, archiving, and distribution.

The Program's efforts are concentrated in three general areas:

  1. studying the origin and evolution of the planets and satellites in the solar system, specifically the geologic processes operating on these bodies (including study through the use of terrestrial analogs),
  2. developing increasingly sophisticated techniques of remote sensing and image processing to be used in the interpretation of planetary surfaces and processes and in terrestrial ground and space studies (such as Mission to Planet Earth, now titled NASA Earth Science Enterprise -- ESE), and
  3. producing mosaic images, maps, and other cartographic products for the scientific community and the general public in support of terrestrial and planetary geoscientific studies.

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Our Mission | Who We Work With
Mission Support | Scientific Investigations
Cartography & Mapping | Shoemaker Center for Astrogeology | Top