Across Mars' ancient southern highlands, the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) has revealed hundreds of visually striking outcrops that appear red in false-colour images. This project uses high-resolution multispectral CaSSIS imaging alongside hyperspectral analysis, convolutional neural networks, and iSALE-2D hypervelocity impact modelling to investigate what these outcrops are made of, and what they can tell us about the composition and structure of the early Martian crust.

The outcrops cluster around the oldest, largest impact basins on the planet, which punched through the crust and brought what lay beneath to the surface. They may therefore represent some of the oldest exposed crustal material on Mars: a rare window into the planet's pre-Noachian interior.

Manuscript in Preparation (2026).