Prisma Based Study of Nidar Ophiolites as Martian Analogues for Serpentinization

This study has attempted to explore selected ophiolite terrain of Ladakh Himalayas using recently acquired hyperspectral data from PRISMA mission. All the earlier research works for ophiolites in Indian territory have been based either on field or geochemical approaches. This research, carried out in the framework of the joint ASI – ISRO Earth Observation Working Group (EOWG), has characterized the ophiolite section of Ladakh at Nidar region for lithology based on spectral reflectance feature and mapped the various lithological units. Furthermore, the Nidar ophiolite section dominant primary and altered mineralogy have been investigated for the serpentinization, a prominent process on Mars having potential for biogenic or abiogenic generation of methane.