South Pole-Aitken Basin Mission (SPAM)

Details South Pole-Aitken Basin Mission (SPAM) South Pole-Aitken Basin Mission (SPAM)

Mar 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997lpi....28.1537w&link_type=abstract

Conference Paper, 28th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, p. 537.

Other

Lunar Surface, Structural Basins, Clementine Spacecraft, Hypervelocity Impact, Satellite Imagery, Lunar Crust, Space Missions, Stratigraphy, Breccia, Landing Sites, Ultraviolet Spectroscopy

Scientific paper

Recent Clementine data of the farside of the moon has shown high resolution details of the South Pole-Aitken basin. The basin is over 2500 km in diameter, making it the largest impact basin thus far identified in our solar system. Estimates for the excavation depth from the basin suggest that the lower crust/upper mantle may have been reached. Clementine UVVIS data show noritic compositions and high FeO wt pct compositions, supporting that at least the lower crust may have been excavated. Because the geology of the area offers a unique opportunity to study the stratigraphy of the lunar crust at depth as well as the composition of rocks from the lunar farside, we have selected a site in the South Pole-Aitken basin for a sample return mission. Although the mission described below is currently unsuitable as a Discovery class mission, other scenarios are still possible that will reduce the mass and make the mission more feasible.

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