Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.u22a..01p&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #U22A-01
Other
[5462] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Polar Regions, [5470] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Surface Materials And Properties, [6094] Planetary Sciences: Comets And Small Bodies / Instruments And Techniques, [6250] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Moon
Scientific paper
The Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been mapping the moon continuously since early July, 2009. The instrument has acquired thermal emission and solar reflectance data in nine spectral channels spanning a wavelength range from 0.3 to 400 microns, at spatial resolutions ranging from 0.2 to 1.3 km (Paige et al., 2009). Diviner’s growing dataset is revealing, for the first time, the extreme nature of the lunar thermal environment, and its diurnal and seasonal variability. The lunar polar regions are of special interest due to the presence of permanently shadowed regions that may contain cold-trapped water and other volatiles. Diviner has obtained sufficient coverage to make complete maps of annual maximum temperatures in the south polar region, and annual minimum temperatures in the north polar region. The results reveal the presence of large areas on the surface and beneath the surface that are capable of serving as long-term cold traps for water ice, as well as compounds of lower and higher volatility. In the low and mid-latitude regions, Diviner is mapping daytime and nighttime thermal emission in multiple spectral channels. Daytime measurements in Diviner’s three 8-micron channels have been used to map the wavelength of a distinct peak in the Moon’s thermal emission spectrum due to the Christiansen feature, an emissivity maximum associated with Si-O stretching vibrations (Greenhagen et al., this meeting). The results show strong correlations with lunar mineralogy derived from other remote sensing techniques and analysis of lunar samples. Diviner’s nighttime measurements in its four thermal mapping channels are mapping the global distribution of isolated exposures of high thermal inertia material associated with the recent excavation of blocky material by impact craters (Vasavada et al., this meeting). Diviner’s observations to date cover nearly 50% of the surface area of the moon. Over time, it is anticipated that Diviner will accumulate sufficient coverage to map most locations at multiple times per day. Future combined analyses of Diviner temperature, thermophysical properties and compositional data may provide new insights into the structure and history of the lunar regolith, and the nature and distribution of cold-trapped volatile compounds at the lunar poles. Greenhagen, B. T. et al. LRO Diviner Lunar Radiometer: Compositional Investigation Coverage and Results, this meeting, 2009. Paige, D. A. et. al. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, Space Science Reviews, DOI: 10.1007/s11214-009-9529-2, 2009. Vasavada, A. R. et al. LRO Diviner: First Look at Lunar Global Temperatures and Thermophysical Properties, this meeting, 2009.
Allen Christine
Bandfield Joshua L.
Bowles Neil E.
Calcutt Simon B.
de Jong Eric M.
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