Mini-RF S-band Radar Characterization of a Lunar South Pole–crossing Tycho Ray: Implications for Sampling Strategies

IF 3.8 Q2 ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS The Planetary Science Journal Pub Date : 2024-04-08 DOI:10.3847/psj/ad320d
Edgard G. Rivera-Valentín, Caleb I. Fassett, Brett W. Denevi, Heather M. Meyer, Catherine D. Neish, Gareth A. Morgan, Joshua T. S. Cahill, Angela M. Stickle, G. Wesley Patterson
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Abstract

One of the youngest features on the Moon is Tycho, an 85 km diameter impact crater with a vast ray system that spans much of the lunar nearside. As such, it serves as an important stratigraphic marker for the Moon. One of Tycho’s longest rays crosses the South Pole, where it intersects several candidate landing sites for NASA’s Artemis III mission, which intends to return new lunar samples. Identification of ray-related effects are thus important to understand the provenance of collected material. To help contextualize sampling strategies, here we characterize the South Pole–crossing Tycho ray using monostatic S-band radar observations from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Miniature Radio Frequency instrument. We found that the ray is a ∼15 km wide radar-bright feature extending at least ∼1600 km from Tycho. Polarimetric analysis revealed that the measured radar backscatter is consistent with a terrain enhanced in centimeter-to-decimeter-scale scatterers. Moreover, we found that the abundance of these scatterers likely decreases with distance from the primary crater, suggesting there may be less Tycho-disturbed material, in particular, poleward of 85°S, where the candidate landing sites are located. Nevertheless, we identified craters along the ray and, importantly, within the Haworth candidate landing site that exhibit secondary crater characteristics, such as radar-bright, asymmetric ejecta deposits. We showed, based on solar illumination and topographic slopes, that the likely Tycho-related secondaries within Haworth are accessible by landed missions. Exploration of this site may thus directly sample Tycho-disturbed material, including a nearby permanently shadowed region, providing new insights into lunar surface processes.
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穿越月球南极的 "第谷射线 "的微型射频 S 波段雷达特征:对采样策略的影响
蒂乔是月球上最年轻的地貌之一,它是一个直径为 85 公里的撞击坑,其巨大的射线系统横跨月球近侧的大部分区域。因此,它是月球重要的地层标记。蒂乔最长的射线之一穿过南极,与美国宇航局打算送回新月球样本的阿耳特弥斯三号任务的几个候选着陆点相交。因此,识别与射线有关的影响对于了解所采集材料的来源非常重要。为了帮助确定取样策略,我们在这里利用月球勘测轨道器的微型射频仪器进行的单静态 S 波段雷达观测,描述了穿越南极的第谷射线的特征。我们发现,该射线是一个宽 15 千米的雷达光亮特征,从第谷星至少延伸了 1600 千米。极坐标分析表明,测量到的雷达反向散射符合一个厘米到分米级散射体增强的地形。此外,我们还发现,这些散射体的数量可能会随着与原生环形山距离的增加而减少,这表明受第谷星干扰的物质可能较少,特别是在候选着陆点所在的南纬85°以北。尽管如此,我们还是发现了射线沿线的陨石坑,更重要的是,在霍沃斯候选着陆点内的陨石坑表现出了次级陨石坑的特征,如雷达亮度高、不对称的喷出物沉积。我们根据太阳光照和地形坡度表明,着陆任务可以进入哈沃斯内可能与泰乔相关的次级环形山。因此,对该地点的探索可以直接对蒂丘扰动物质进行取样,包括附近的永久阴影区,从而为了解月球表面过程提供新的视角。
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来源期刊
The Planetary Science Journal
The Planetary Science Journal Earth and Planetary Sciences-Geophysics
CiteScore
5.20
自引率
0.00%
发文量
249
审稿时长
15 weeks
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