High-resolution mapping of lunar polar hydrogen with a low-resource orbital mission

Lawrence, D. J.; Miller, R. S.; Ozimek, Martin T.; Peplowski, P. N.; Scott, Christopher J.

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2015.06.010

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…A pathfinder mission to make this measurement from a CubeSat platform is currently planned [ Hardgrove et al ., ]. A full‐coverage, high‐statistics measurement that could carry out high spatial resolution measurements, as well as provide spatially resolved, hydrogen burial‐depth information, likely requires a larger instrument and more spacecraft resources than can be provided by a CubeSat [ Lawrence et al ., ]. New multiwavelength spectral data at the Moon, either active or passive, could provide additional details about volatiles and frost within lunar PSRs.…”

Section: Psr Exploration In the Next 50 Yearsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A tale of two poles: Toward understanding the presence, distribution, and origin of volatiles at the polar regions of the Moon and Mercury

Lawrence

2017

JGR Planets

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The Moon and Mercury both have permanently shaded regions (PSRs) at their poles, which are locations that do not see the Sun for geologically long periods of time. The PSRs of the Moon and Mercury have very cold temperatures (<120 K) and as a consequence act as traps for volatile materials. Volatile enhancements have been detected and characterized at both planetary bodies, but the volatile concentrations at Mercury's poles are significantly larger than at the Moon's poles. This paper documents the study of PSR volatiles at the Moon and Mercury that has taken place over the past 60 years. Starting with speculative ideas in the 1950s and 1960s, the field of PSR volatiles has emerged into a thriving subfield of planetary science that has significant implications for scientific studies of the solar system, as well as future human exploration of the solar system. While much has been learned about PSRs and PSR volatiles, many foundational aspects of PSRs are still not understood. One of the most important unanswered questions is why the PSR volatile concentrations at the Moon and Mercury are so different. After describing the initial predictions and measurements of PSR volatiles, this paper documents a variety of PSR measurements, summarizes the current understanding of PSR volatiles, and then suggests what new measurements and studies are needed to answer many of the remaining open questions about PSR volatiles.

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Section: Psr Exploration In the Next 50 Yearsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A tale of two poles: Toward understanding the presence, distribution, and origin of volatiles at the polar regions of the Moon and Mercury

Lawrence

2017

JGR Planets

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“…The LunaH-Map CubeSat mission is planning to make such a measurement, and if successful will at a minimum provide a proof of principle for this type of low-altitude measurement ( Hardgrove et al, 2020 ). A possible future mission with a larger sensor area and a fast neutron measurement capability could provide a significantly higher precision measurement along with information about hydrogen layering within the large PSRs ( Lawrence, Miller, et al, 2015 ). Surface based measurements, such as the planned VIPER mission ( Colaprete et al, 2021 ), will provide key data about the polar but non-PSR hydrogen reservoir with its two neutron sensors that are functionally identical to the LP neutron sensors.…”

Section: Bulk Solar Wind Hydrogen Surface Oh/h 2 O and Permanently Sh...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Hydrogen Abundances on the Lunar Surface

et al. 2022

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A number of hydrogen and volatile-rich reservoirs are present on the Moon. Hydrogen and volatile enhancements are known to exist within permanently shaded regions ( PSRs ) at the lunar poles ( Lawrence, 2017 ). There are also non-polar enhancements of surficial OH and/or H 2 O at high lunar latitudes ( e.g., Pieters et al., 2009 ), and various locations such as pyroclastic deposits ( e.g., , and crater central peaks ( Honniball et al., 2020;Klima et al., 2013 ), which contain volatiles thought to be associated with exhumed, subsurface materials. Time varying abundances of volatiles that depend on local time of day have been reported Sunshine et al., 2009 ). These observations are consistent with detailed studies of lunar samples, which have led to a recognition of the role that volatile elements played in the Moon's formation and its subsequent history ( McCubbin et al., 2015 ).We present new analyses of orbital neutron data from the Lunar Prospector ( LP ) mission where we use updated analysis corrections for hydrogen and rare-earth-elements ( REEs ), and link these new corrections with previously published sample-site hydrogen concentrations. We show that when previously cataloged Apollo sample-site hydrogen concentrations, originally attributed to an undetermined amount of terrestrial contamination, are used to correct simulations of orbital neutron data, the newly revised data enable a better correlation between the

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“…Ice has been inferred based on a combination of radar anomalies and neutron flux anomalies (Nozette et al 2001;Thomson et al 2012). Enhanced hydrogen abundances were detected using neutron data (Elphic et al 2007;Teodoro et al 2010;Miller et al 2014;Lawrence et al 2015), higher off-band albedos in the poles (Gladstone et al 2012), and high reflectance at 1064 nm using LOLA data (Lucey et al 2014). Water ice and other volatiles were detected in material entrained in a plume excavated by the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite spacecraft following its impact with the floor of the Cabeus crater (Colaprete et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Conditions and Resource Accessibility at Potential Artemis Landing Sites 007 and 011

et al. 2022

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International efforts are underway to explore the Moon’s south polar region with robotic and human missions. These missions will address key scientific and exploration objectives in a region rich with possibilities, designed to develop a sustained lunar presence. To assist a trade study among six potential landing sites identified for Artemis astronauts, we examined two of those sites: 007 and 011. We find that (1) many craters in the vicinity of Site 007 excavated and expose ejecta from Shackleton and Slater; additionally, numerous craters around Site 011 expose Cabeus and de Gerlache ejecta; (2) dense boulder fields occur near a large permanently shadowed region (PSR) at Site 007 and near the point of highest surface illumination in Site 011, which may affect landing and surface exploration activities; (3) despite some surface roughness, both sites 007 and 011 are traversable and contain exploration targets suitable for in situ resource utilization; (4) sites 007 and 011 receive higher average illumination than previously reported for sites 001 and 004; and (5) PSRs, seasonally shadowed regions, and cold traps at both sites offer opportunities to sample volatiles.

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High-resolution mapping of lunar polar hydrogen with a low-resource orbital mission

Cited by 8 publications

References 47 publications

A tale of two poles: Toward understanding the presence, distribution, and origin of volatiles at the polar regions of the Moon and Mercury

A tale of two poles: Toward understanding the presence, distribution, and origin of volatiles at the polar regions of the Moon and Mercury

Global Hydrogen Abundances on the Lunar Surface

Surface Conditions and Resource Accessibility at Potential Artemis Landing Sites 007 and 011

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