Color Properties at the Mars InSight Landing Site

The color properties observed at the InSight landing site by the lander cameras are spectral mixtures of two source materials: gray-black rocky material with chromaticity values of (x = 0.32, y = 0.32) and yellowish-brown dust with chromaticity values of (x = 0.42, y = 0.36). These results are consistent with published values from other Mars landed missions. The InSight measurements also include the first published value of the whitepoint of Mars daylight (chromaticity of x=0.35,y=0.34), which is redder than earth daylight by 𝛿x= 0.04 and 𝛿y = 0.01. InSight measurements also show a subtle (𝛿x= 0.02 and 𝛿y = 0.01) difference in color between the near field terrain (within 20 meters of the lander) and the far field area beyond. This color difference is believed to be caused by dust being blown off by near field terrain by the lander rockets during the landing event. The visual difference between the two regions is caused primarily by the brightness variation. Chromaticity measurements of the Martian sky also match previous missions with additional variability caused by differences in dust loading and the dynamic nature of the Martian atmosphere.