Docker Image for the Pit Topography from Shadows (PITS) Tool

Docker image for running the Pit Topography from Shadows (PITS) tool on Mars/Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imagery of Martian or Lunar pits. This image can be built manually by following the "Installation" instructions on PITS' GitHub repository.

Pit Topography from Shadows (PITS) is a dockerised Python framework which can automatically calculate an apparent depth (h) profile for Martian or Lunar pits from only one cropped, single- or multi-band, remote-sensing image. h is the relative depth of the pit between its rim and the edge of the shadow cast by the Sun - with the principle being that a deeper pit would cast a wider shadow.

Pits, or pit craters, are near-circular depressions found in planetary surfaces which are generally formed through gravitational collapse. Pits will be primary targets for future space exploration and habitability, for their presence on most rocky Solar System surfaces and their potential to be entrances to sub-surface cavities.

PITS employs image segmentation in the form of k-means clustering with silhouette analysis to automatically detect the shadow and measure its width, whereby a h profile can be calculated. In addition to the h profile, PITS saves the extents of the detected shadow as a geo-referenced ESRI shapefile for visualisation in GIS software. This can be used to enhance the contrast of the pixels within the shadow to search for any deeper-shaded regions - possibly due to a cave entrance. PITS currently works with Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) High Resolution Science Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) imagery of Mars and the Moon, respectively.

Go to PITS' GitHub repository to learn more about how to install PITS, how PITS works, and its accuracy when tested on MRO HiRISE imagery of Martian pits.