Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rachael M. Marshal, Ottaviano Ruesch, Christian Woehler, Kay Wohlfarth, Sergey Velichko
Summary: The study and investigation of meter and sub-meter scale geological features, especially boulders and boulder fields, on the surface of airless bodies can provide insight into the evolution of the regolith and the contribution of various processes to its formation. Prior studies have examined the photometric properties of the lunar regolith surrounding young craters using image ratios. We extend this methodology to extracting surface properties, in particular the roughness characteristics, exclusive to boulder fields and the boulders that constitute them around impact craters.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
K. L. Laferriere, J. M. Sunshine, L. M. Feaga
Summary: Measurements from spacecraft observations have revealed the presence of hydroxyl and potentially molecular water on the Moon, with widespread but variable hydration. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms of production and loss of water on the lunar surface.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
David A. Kring, Georgiana Y. Kramer, D. Benjamin J. Bussey, Dana M. Hurley, Angela M. Stickle, Carolyn H. van der Bogert
Summary: The study reveals that gas-rich discharges of magma on the lunar surface produced significant amounts of water and gases, with some of the water being trapped in permanently shadowed regions at the lunar poles. The water in the south polar region mainly originated from volcanic activity on the floor of the Schrodinger impact basin.
ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
O. Ruesch, C. Woehler
Summary: Understanding the properties and evolution of airless surfaces is important, and the efficiency of regolith production plays a key role in this. We developed a model to study the morphological evolution of the rock-fillet system on the Moon, and found that different cohesive rocks have distinct morphological evolution of fillets. This allows us to distinguish rock cohesion from its surface exposure age by examining the fillet around a rock. Combining topographic diffusion modeling with images of known age rocks, we determined that the abrasion rate for m-sized rocks is higher than for cm-sized rocks. Our findings suggest that fillets around lunar rocks are a result of isotropic micrometeoroid bombardment.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
R. Bugiolacchi, G. -P. Hu, Y. C. Zheng
Summary: A new lunar map was generated using data from two frequency channels of nocturnal microwave radiance, revealing areas of anomalous high differences related to young impact craters. Microwave features are likely influenced by terrain roughness and ejecta materials, providing additional information on buried materials. However, the low spatial resolution of available microwave data hinders accurate quantitative analysis.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Huicun He, Jianglong Ji, Yue Zhang, Sen Hu, Yangting Lin, Hejiu Hui, Jialong Hao, Ruiying Li, Wei Yang, Hengci Tian, Chi Zhang, Mahesh Anand, Romain Tartese, Lixin Gu, Jinhua Li, Di Zhang, Qian Mao, Lihui Jia, Xiaoguang Li, Yi Chen, Li Zhang, Huaiwei Ni, Shitou Wu, Hao Wang, Qiuli Li, Huaiyu He, Xianhua Li, Fuyuan Wu
Summary: Analysis of lunar soils returned by the Chang'e-5 mission suggests that impact glass beads on the Moon's surface may contain a significant amount of solar wind-derived water. This finding supports the existence of a hydrated layer in lunar soils that plays a role in the global water cycle on the Moon. The study also reveals that impact glass beads can serve as reservoirs for water on other airless bodies.
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Julian Baasch, Lisa Windisch, Frank Koch, Stefan Linke, Enrico Stoll, Carsten Schilde
Summary: Future plans to establish a human outpost on the Moon will require new materials, methods, and processes. Casting metals can be used to manufacture tools, construction elements, and infrastructure on the Moon, and sand-casting or permanent mold casting processes can be adapted for lunar manufacturing using regolith. Initial experiments show that a wide range of aluminum parts can be cast using lunar regolith, indicating the possibility of new ISRU-based adapted processes for lunar manufacturing.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Dijun Guo, Wenzhe Fa, Bo Wu, Yuan Li, Yang Liu
Summary: This study presents the millimeter-to decimeter-scale surface slope and roughness of the Moon at China's Chang'e-4 landing regions for the first time. The bidirectional slope and RMS height show scale-dependent behaviors, with bidirectional slope decreasing from micrometer to kilometer scales. Lunar surface roughness is mainly controlled by small impact craters, rocks, and regolith properties at millimeter-scale.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
C. I. Honniball, P. G. Lucey, S. Li, S. Shenoy, T. M. Orlando, C. A. Hibbitts, D. M. Hurley, W. M. Farrell
Summary: Observations on the Moon at 6 mu m wavelength region by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) revealed a signature of molecular water, distinguishing it from other forms of hydration. The estimated water abundance ranges between 100 to 400 mu g g(-)(1) at high latitudes, potentially trapped within impact glasses or in between grains.
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
A. E. Parkinson, E. A. Cloutis, D. M. Applin, N. N. Turenne, B. R. Dagdick, J. P. Mann, J. M. Stromberg, Y. Gao, R. V. Kruzelecky, S. A. Mertzman
Summary: The study investigated the capabilities of a three-band lidar instrument to detect and quantify different types of regolith +/- water ice mixtures in lunar mare and highlands regions. Spectral characterization of various samples was conducted, focusing on variables such as regolith type, grain size, water ice coverage and porosity, and water ice percentages. Both absolute reflectance and reflectance ratios were found to be necessary for robust analysis, with the 1560 nm wavelength region showing the greatest sensitivity to water ice content. The study also found that detection limits for water ice can be as low as 2%, and are lower for areal vs intimate mixtures.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chao Li, Yikang Zheng, Xin Wang, Jinhai Zhang, Yibo Wang, Ling Chen, Lei Zhang, Pan Zhao, Yike Liu, Wenmin Lv, Yang Liu, Xu Zhao, Jinlai Hao, Weijia Sun, Xiaofeng Liu, Bojun Jia, Juan Li, Haiqiang Lan, Wenzhe Fa, Yongxin Pan, Fuyuan Wu
Summary: Exploring the subsurface of Utopia Planitia on Mars through the Zhurong rover's ground-penetrating radar survey has provided detailed images showing a multi-layered structure, suggesting episodic hydraulic flooding sedimentation that filled the basin. While no direct evidence of liquid water was found, the presence of saline ice in the subsurface cannot be ruled out.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yiren Chang, Zhiyong Xiao, Yang Liu, Jun Cui
Summary: Self-secondaries are a background population of secondary craters formed by impacts of sub-vertically launched ejecta, posing a potential threat to the reliability of crater chronology. They are mainly located around complex impact craters on the Moon, but their first discovery around simple craters has been reported. The spatial density of self-secondaries is highly heterogeneous and they are more abundant downrange of the ejecta deposits from non-vertical impacts.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Bojun Jia, Wenzhe Fa, Minggang Xie, Yushan Tai, Xiaofeng Liu
Summary: In December 2020, China's Chang'E-5 spacecraft collected 1.731 kg samples from Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon's nearside, providing valuable information for understanding the geological context and properties of the returned regolith samples. Through a comprehensive analysis of regolith properties in the landing region, it was found that the majority of surface regolith are local materials and the thickness of regolith varies from about 1.5 to 8 meters.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Christine M. Hartzell, Paul Bellan, Dennis Bodewits, Gian Luca Delzanno, Masatoshi Hirabayashi, Truell Hyde, Uwe Konopka, Edward Thomas Jr, Hubertus M. Thomas, Inseob Hahn, Ulf Israelsson
Summary: Experimental and computational investigations have examined the feasibility of electrostatically-driven dust motion on the lunar surface, which has implications for surface evolution and exploration safety. In order to advance understanding of dust-plasma interactions, four key measurements/observations have been identified and conceptual designs for payloads to obtain these observations have been proposed. These payloads would provide crucial insights for future modeling and in situ experiments to enhance our understanding of the lunar dust-plasma environment.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Seulgi Moon, David A. Paige, Matthew A. Siegler, Patrick S. Russell
Summary: The study quantified lunar surface roughness and modeled the stability of near-surface water ice in permanently shadowed regions. It found that areas predicted to have stable surface ice had lower surface roughness, possibly due to enhanced ice-rich material transport or preferential cold-trapping.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
