From Arctic UAS Reconnaissance to Planetary Rotorcraft Science: An evidence tracking workflow for linking aerial observations with ground investigation at FMARS

Dennis T Trevino

Aerial reconnaissance can place a ground target within its terrain context, but scientific interpretation requires a traceable connection between the image, its processing history, and the field record. This technical case study describes an evidence tracking workflow for imagery associated with the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island, Canada. The available sources include 1,141 original aerial photographs with July 2026 camera timestamps and a separate ground video filmed by Trevor Jahn in July 2025. Selected aerial photographs show the habitat, tracks, snow patches, and snow-lined channel margins. A worked example records a deliberately selected pixel in an original photograph, preserves the source identity and observation, and exports a record with no geographic geometry because a ground position has not been established. This demonstrates image-space traceability without converting camera GPS into a ground coordinate. The ground video supplies a separate outcrop perspective whose correspondence with the aerial coverage remains unresolved. Reconstruction products are retained as context pending documentation of processing and geometric validation. The case defines the additional site, timing, calibration, and uncertainty information needed before integrating environmental measurements. Its contribution to planetary rotorcraft science is a practical record structure for connecting aerial target selection with surface verification. It reports a documentation example and validation protocol, not measured runoff, confirmed mineral composition, or an assessment of reconstruction accuracy.