Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufm.p71a0439m&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #P71A-0439
Physics
5470 Surface Materials And Properties, 5480 Volcanism (8450), 5494 Instruments And Techniques, 6250 Moon (1221), 8429 Lava Rheology And Morphology
Scientific paper
Lunar mare lavas are previously believed to be formed by vast eruptions of flood-type lavas, however, some features of mare lava flows including sinuous rills and rimae (collapsed features) suggest that they can be related to slow movements of low-viscosity lava flows. These features are often interpreted to be formed by successive collapses of roofs of ancient lava tubes. Recent studies show that lava tubes enhance lava flow advancements very effectively by preventing significant cooling, which strongly supports the idea that they are responsible for feeding many long lava flows and resurfacing of volcanic terrains. Detailed descriptions of these complex systems of lava tubes are quite important. In addition to that, a lunar lava tube is known as a good candidate for a future lunar base. This is because that the lava tube can be an ideal natural shelter in itself to prevent from dangerous or hazardous agents such as cosmic ray, micrometeoroids, and severe changes in temperature. Although the presence of an uncollapsed lunar lava tube is indirectly suggested, no one has ever determined its existence directly. For this reason, mapping uncollapsed lunar lava tubes is extremely important from a future lunar-exploration viewpoint. We propose a new landing mission with a ground penetrating radar (GPR) system, which can detect lava tubes clearly and directly. The mission profile has five phases: 1) low altitude (of less than 10km) orbiting phase to investigate the lava tube candidates; 2) pin-point (within a few hundred meters) landing phase to detect the lava tubes; 3) surface contact phase to study of the structure of a lava tube below the landing module; 4) re-lift off and long-distance traveling phase for investigating the network structure of lava tubes; and 5) final hovering phase at the entrance of a tube. A GPR system with a central frequency of 280 to 320 MHz and transmitter power of 3W should be able to detect lava tubes in this mission profile. To assess the feasibility of the GPR method, we have applied a GPR system to a terrestrial basaltic lava flow and successfully detected a known and an unknown lava tubes.
Haruyama Junji
Miyamoto Hideaki
Nishibori Toshiyuki
Rokugawa Shuichi
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