Automatic extraction of lunar impact craters from Chang'E-1 satellite photographs

The distribution characteristics of the impact craters can provide a large amount of information on impact history and the lunar evolution process. In this research, based on the digital elevation model (DEM) data originating from Change'E-1 CCD stereo camera, three automatic extraction methods for the impact craters are implemented in two research areas: direct extraction from flooded DEM data (the Flooded method), object-oriented extraction from DEM data by using ENVI ZOOM function (the Object-Oriented method) and novel object-oriented extraction from flooded DEM data (the Flooded Object-Oriented method). Accuracy assessment, extracted degree computation, cumulative frequency analysis, shape and age analysis of the extracted craters combined display the following results. (1) The Flooded Object-Oriented method yields better accuracy than the other two methods in the two research areas; the extraction result of the Flooded method offers the similar accuracy to that of the Object-Oriented method. (2) The cumulative frequency curves for the extracted craters and the confirmed craters share a similar change trajectory. (3) The number of the impact craters extracted by the three methods in the Imbrian period is the largest and is of various types; as to their age earlier than Imbrain, it is difficult to extract because they could have been destroyed.