Radio Instrument Package for Lunar Ionospheric Observation: A Concept Study

Abstract

The lunar atmosphere, also considered an "exosphere," consists of a gravitationally-bound, tenuous, collisionless gas, thought to be dominated by inert atoms (e.g., Ar, Ne, and He) or dust with densities on the order of 10 4 -10 5 cm −3 (Stern, 1999 and references within). Exospheric constituents mainly originate from the lunar regolith and subsurface, the solar wind, and micrometeorites. This thin (10 s of kilometers) atmospheric layer is an integral part of a highly coupled system comprising the lunar environment, sun, and solar system, and was identified as one of eight key areas of focus for lunar