Geologic investigation and mapping of the Sinus Iridum quadrangle from Clementine, SELENE, and Chang’e-1 data

Chen, Shengbo; Meng, Zhiguo; Tengfei, Cui; Liu, Yi; Wang, Jingran; Zhang, Xuqing

doi:10.1007/s11433-010-4160-5

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Our results of the FeO and TiO 2 contents within the Sinus Iridum region are consistent with those of Bugiolacchi and Guest (2008). Chen et al (2010) suggested that the inner Sinus Iridum region and surrounding highlands are high-iron and medium-titanium, and the Mare Imbrium region is low-iron and high-titanium where the maximum TiO 2 content can be over than 25 wt%. However, both global remote sensing data (e.g., Lucey et al, 1998;Wu et al, 2012) and returned samples data (e.g., Papike et al, 1976) indicate that the mare basalts are more iron-rich than the highland materials and the maximum TiO 2 content of lunar materials is about 14 wt%.…”

Section: Iron and Titanium Abundance Of Mare Basalts Within Sinus Iridumsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Considering its flat topography, Sinus Iridum has been selected as one of the important candidate landing areas for the future Chinese robotic and human exploration missions, e.g., Chang'E-5 lunar sample return mission (Qiu and Stone, 2013). Previous studies suggested this region had experienced complex evolutionary history because of the abundant geomorphic features on the surface, including wrinkle ridges, sinuous rilles, impact craters and crater chains, making this region attractive for lunar geology research (e.g., Chen et al, 2010;Gong and Jin, 2012;Huang et al, 2010;Schaber, 1969;Zou, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geological features and evolution history of Sinus Iridum, the Moon

Qiao

Xiao

Zhao

et al. 2014

Planetary and Space Science

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Section: Iron and Titanium Abundance Of Mare Basalts Within Sinus Iridumsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geological features and evolution history of Sinus Iridum, the Moon

Qiao

Xiao

Zhao

et al. 2014

Planetary and Space Science

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“…These features might provide important clues to the formation, basaltic magma intrusion, and late surface modification of Sinus Iridum and Mare Imbrium. In addition to its relatively flat terrain, Sinus Iridum was selected as one of the potential landing sites for CE‐3 lander/rover [e.g., Chen et al , ; Gong and Jin , ; Fa , ].…”

Section: Sinus Iridum Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regolith thickness over Sinus Iridum: Results from morphology and size-frequency distribution of small impact craters

Liu

Zhu

et al. 2014

J. Geophys. Res. Planets

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High-resolution optical images returned from recent lunar missions provide a new chance for estimation of lunar regolith thickness using morphology and the size-frequency distribution of small impact craters. In this study, regolith thickness over the Sinus Iridum region is estimated using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Cameras (NACs) images. A revised relationship between crater geometry and regolith thickness is proposed based on old experimental data that takes into considering the effect of the illumination angle of the images. In total, 227 high-resolution LROC NAC images are used, and 378,556 impact craters with diameters from 4.2 to 249.8 m are counted, and their morphologies are identified. Our results show that 50% of the Sinus Iridum region has a regolith thickness between 5.1 and 10.7 m, and the mean and median regolith thicknesses are 8.5 and 8.0 m, respectively. There are substantial regional variations in the regolith thickness, with its median value varying from 2.6 to 12.0 m for most regions. Local variations of regolith thickness are found to be correlated with the lunar surface age: the older the surface, the greater the thickness. In addition, sporadically distributed impact ejecta and crater rays are associated with relatively larger regolith thickness, which might result from excavation and transport of materials during the formation of the secondaries of Copernican-aged craters. Our estimated regolith thickness can help with future analysis of Chang'E-3 lunar penetrating radar echoes and studies of the subsurface stratigraphic structure of the Moon.

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“…This bay and the surrounding mountains are considered one of the most beautiful features on the moon, and is a favorite among lunar observers. The selenographic coordinates of this bay are 44.1°N, 31.5°W, and the diameter is 259 km, with the area of 47750.927 km 2 [18]. Simulation data are applied to analyze the positioning accuracy of the lunar lander, using the software developed at Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO), Chinese Academy of Sciences.…”

Section: Simulation Results and Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precise positioning of the Chang’E-3 lunar lander using a kinematic statistical method

Huang

et al. 2012

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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A kinematic statistical method is proposed to determine the position for Chang'E-3 (CE-3) lunar lander. This method uses both ranging and VLBI measurements to the lander for a continuous arc, combing with precise knowledge about the motion of the moon as provided by planetary ephemeris, to estimate the lander's position on the lunar surface with high accuracy. Accuracy analyses are carried out with simulation data using the software developed at Shanghai Astronomical Observatory in this study to show that measurement errors will dominate the position accuracy. Application of lunar digital elevation model (DEM) as constraints in the lander positioning is also analyzed. Simulations show that combing range/doppler and VLBI data, single epoch positioning accuracy is at several hundred meters level, but with ten minutes data accumulation positioning accuracy is able to be achieved with several meters. Analysis also shows that the information given by DEM can provide constraints in positioning, when DEM data reduce a 3-dimensional positioning problem to 2-dimensional. Considering the Sinus Iridum, CE-3 lander's planned landing area, has been observed with dedicated details during the CE-1 and CE-2 missions, and its regional DEM model accuracy may be higher than global models, which will certainly support CE-3's lander positioning. The first Chinese lunar explorer CE-1 was launched on October 24, 2007, and following CE-2 was launched on October 1, 2010 [1][2][3]. According to the long-term schedule, Chinese unmanned lunar exploration plan is divided into three stages: orbiting, landing and returning stages. In the orbiting stage, the CE-1 and CE-2 satellites fly around the moon and take photos about the landing area. In the landing stage, the main task is to softland on the lunar surface and to explore automatically [4]. A lunar lander and a rover are needed in this stage. How to determine the positions of the lander and rover on the lunar surface is very important to the following Chinese lunar exploration project. The rover moves very slowly and not far away from the lander, so the position determination of the lander is more critical. Dealing with position determination of a satellite, the dynamic statistical orbit determination (OD) method and single point positioning are widely used in lunar exploration [1][2][3]5,6]. OD can be viewed as a special case of general parameter estimation problem, where the parameters characterizing the orbit of a satellite, have to be determined from observations using the least squares method. The main error sources are from observations as well as the force model, and in order to get high OD accuracy, forces exerting on the satellite must be modeled precisely. Comparing with dynamic OD method, single point positioning does not need to model forces, and the position of the satellite can be

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Geologic investigation and mapping of the Sinus Iridum quadrangle from Clementine, SELENE, and Chang’e-1 data

Cited by 15 publications

References 19 publications

Geological features and evolution history of Sinus Iridum, the Moon

Geological features and evolution history of Sinus Iridum, the Moon

Regolith thickness over Sinus Iridum: Results from morphology and size-frequency distribution of small impact craters

Precise positioning of the Chang’E-3 lunar lander using a kinematic statistical method

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