Mission to Characterize Volatiles in Old, Cold, Permanently Shadowed Regions on the Moon (original) (raw)

Lunar Volatiles and Solar System Science

2020

Understanding the origin and evolution of the lunar volatile system is not only compelling lunar science, but also fundamental Solar System science. This white paper (submitted to the US National Academies' Decadal Survey in Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032) summarizes recent advances in our understanding of lunar volatiles, identifies outstanding questions for the next decade, and discusses key steps required to address these questions.

Origin and stability of lunar polar volatiles

Advances in Space Research, 2012

Temperature regime at the LCROSS impact site is studied. All detected species in the Cabeus crater as well as CH 4 and CO clathrate hydrates except H 2 , CO, and CH 4 are stable against evaporation at the LCROSS impact site. CO and CH 4 can be chemisorbed at the surface of the regolith particles and exist in the form of clathrate hydrates in the lunar cold traps. Flux rates of delivery of volatile species by asteroids, micrometeoroids, O-rich, C-rich, and low-speed comets into the permanently shadowed regions are estimated. Significant amounts of H 2 O, CO, H 2 , H 2 S, SO 2 , and CO 2 can be impact-produced during collisions between asteroids and O-rich comets with the Moon while CH 3 OH, NH 3 and complex organic species survive during low-speed comet impacts as products of disequilibrium processes. C-rich comets are main sources of CH 4 , and C 2 H 4 .

The Lunar Volatile Resources Analysis Package

2012

The presence and abundance of lunar volatiles is an important consideration for ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilisation) since this is likely to be a part of a strategy for supporting long term human exploration of the moon. The Lunar Volatile Resources Analysis Package (L-VRAP ...

Constraints on the volatile distribution within Shackleton crater at the lunar south pole

Nature, 2012

Shackleton crater is nearly coincident with the Moon's south pole. Its interior receives almost no direct sunlight and is a perennial cold trap, making Shackleton a promising candidate location in which to seek sequestered volatiles. However, previous orbital and Earth-based radar mapping and orbital optical imaging have yielded conflicting interpretations about the existence of volatiles. Here we present observations from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, revealing Shackleton to be an ancient, unusually well-preserved simple crater whose interior walls are fresher than its floor and rim. Shackleton floor deposits are nearly the same age as the rim, suggesting that little floor deposition has occurred since the crater formed more than three billion years ago. At a wavelength of 1,064 nanometres, the floor of Shackleton is brighter than the surrounding terrain and the interiors of nearby craters, but not as bright as the interior walls. ...