Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p11i..07b&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P11I-07
Physics
[2129] Interplanetary Physics / Interplanetary Dust, [5430] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Interiors, [5435] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Ionospheres
Scientific paper
LUNAR undertakes investigations within the mission of the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI), namely science of, on, and from the Moon. The LUNAR team's research seeks to ascertain the content, origin, and evolution of the solar system. The interior structure of the Moon, particularly its core, remains poorly constrained. In turn, the size and state of the core (fluid vs. solid) reflect processes that occurred at the time of the formation of the Earth-Moon system. Advancing our knowledge of the interior structure was recognized as a science objective in the report "Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2023." Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) provides precision measurements of the Earth-Moon distance approaching the 1 mm level, and the LUNAR team is developing the technology to advance the precision to <100 μm. At these levels, variations in the Moon's librations are easily detectable, and, even at the current precision level, LLR uniquely constrains the size of the liquid core to be ≈400 km in radius. Other work being undertaken tracks the influence of tides, heat dissipation, and the orbital evolution of the Earth-Moon system. The lunar atmosphere is the exemplar and nearest case of a surface boundary exosphere for an airless body in the solar system. The "Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2023" report noted that understanding the evolution of exospheres, and particularly their interaction with the space environment, remains both poorly constrained and requires observations at a variety of different bodies. Determining the properties of the lunar atmosphere both robustly and over time requires a lunar-based methodology by which the atmosphere can be monitored over multiple day-night cycles from a fixed location(s). Relative ionospheric opacity measurements or riometry, measures the amount of power received at different radio frequencies and directly determines the density of the (ionized) atmosphere. The LUNAR team has been developing the technology for a future lunar-based radio telescope, however, the same technology is also applicable to a lunar riometer that could be deployed on a future lander (e.g., a Google Lunar X-Prize competitor). The interplanetary medium is pervaded by dust from a variety of sources that may be a key element in the weathering of airless bodies in the solar system. Recent work by the LUNAR team has revealed a substantial population of nanometer-size dust (nanodust) with fluxes >100,000 times higher than the micron-sized dust grains. This nanodust moves with the speed of the solar wind (100's of km/sec) as opposed to more typical Keplerian speeds (10's of km/sec). Since impact damage grows faster than the square of the impact speed for high speed dust, nanodust could be an important contributor to space weathering. The same technology for a lunar-based radio telescope is also a superb tool for measuring the distribution of dust particles as a function of size, and ultimately for understanding how dust modifies the surfaces of planets and other airless object. LUNAR is funded by NLSI via Cooperative Agreement NNA09DB30A.
Burns O. Jr. J.
Lazio Joe
Nlsi Lunar Team
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