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Earth Wind as a Possible Exogenous Source of Lunar Surface Hydration
Wei, Y.; Zhang, H.; Xia, L. D. +22 more
Understanding the sources of lunar water is crucial for studying the history of lunar evolution, as well as the interaction of solar wind with the Moon and other airless bodies. Recent orbital spectral observations revealed that the solar wind is a significant exogenous driver of lunar surficial hydration. However, the solar wind is shielded over …
On the Effect of Magnetospheric Shielding on the Lunar Hydrogen Cycle
Farrell, W. M.; Tucker, O. J.; Poppe, A. R.
The global distribution of surficial hydroxyl on the Moon is hypothesized to be derived from the implantation of solar wind protons. As the Moon traverses the geomagnetic tail, it is generally shielded from the solar wind; therefore, the concentration of hydrogen is expected to decrease during full Moon. A Monte Carlo approach is used to model the…
Volatiles and Refractories in Surface-Bounded Exospheres in the Inner Solar System
Leblanc, François; Nishino, Masaki N.; Vervack, Ronald J. +11 more
Volatiles and refractories represent the two end-members in the volatility range of species in any surface-bounded exosphere. Volatiles include elements that do not interact strongly with the surface, such as neon (detected on the Moon) and helium (detected both on the Moon and at Mercury), but also argon, a noble gas (detected on the Moon) that s…
The Scientific Value of a Sustained Exploration Program at the Aristarchus Plateau
Glotch, Timothy D.; Li, Shuai; Lucey, Paul G. +13 more
The Aristarchus plateau hosts a diversity of volcanic features, including the largest pyroclastic deposit on the Moon, the largest sinuous rille on the Moon, and intrusive and extrusive examples of evolved, Th-rich silicic lithologies. We provide an overview of previous remote-sensing measurements of the Aristarchus plateau and provide new analyse…
Spectral properties of lunar impact melt deposits from Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) data
Tornabene, L. L.; Neish, C. D.; Cannon, K. M. +3 more
Lunar impact melt deposits have unusual surface properties, unlike any measured terrestrial lava flow. Radar observations suggest that they are incredibly rough at decimeter scales, but they appear smooth in high-resolution, meter-scale optical images. The cause of their unusual surface roughness is unknown. In this work, we investigate the proper…
Characterization of geomorphological features of lunar surface using Chandrayaan-1 Mini-SAR and LRO Mini-RF data
Kumar, Shashi; Vashishtha, Ankita
Characterizing southern portion of Mare Vaporum with improved Chandrayaan-1 M3 data
Videen, Gorden; Shkuratov, Yuriy; Surkov, Yehor +3 more
We investigate a southern portion of Mare Vaporum using Chandrayaan-1 M3 images for which we suppress striped noise. Additional data processing allows us to analyze such spectral parameters as the depths and positions of the absorption bands near 1 and 2 µm. Mineral types were mapped using the cluster analysis of Adams diagram for…
Virtual Moon Atlas 7 Freeware
Legrand, C.; Chevalley, P.
Virtual Moon Atlas version 7 is a mapping freeware linking topographic, geologic, chemical and historical maps with databases, documents, and pictures libraries. It uses datas from NASA, USGS, JPL, Smart-1, LP, Kaguya, Chandrayann, and Chang'E probes.
The SIXS Instrument on Bepicolumbo, and Its Use for Space Weather Observations, and in Conjunction with MIXS
Muinonen, Karri; Huovelin, Juhani; Bunce, E. +2 more
The Solar Intensity X-ray and particle Spectrometer (SIXS) on BepiColumbo Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) will investigate the direct solar X-rays and protons and electrons which pass the spacecraft on their way to Mercury. It has an innovative compact design, and the Mercury Imaging X-ray Spectrometer, with which it is paired, is similarly highly…
Chandrayaan-1 Moon Impact Probe: Impact Location Refined
Stooke, P. J.; Subramanian, S.; Ahmed, S. M.
Chndrayaan-1's Moon Impact Probe took images as it descended on 14 November 2009. Past attempts to locate the impact compared lower resolution images with a Clementine map. We use LROC images and the last few MIP images to refine the impact site.