Data processing and initial results of Chang'e-3 lunar penetrating radar

Su, Yan; Fang, Guangyou; Feng, Jianqing; Xing, Shu; Ji, Yicai; Zhou, Bin; Gao, Yanfang; Li, Han; Dai, Shun; Xiao, Yuan; Li, Chunlai

doi:10.1088/1674-4527/14/12/010

Cited by 98 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Considering a 4 m ejecta thickness of the Zi Wei crater, most of the observed high‐frequency LPR echoes are from the ejecta layer (Fa et al, ). In this study, CE‐3 LPR data at 2B level are used, and each trace contains a zero‐time reference point (Su et al, ). The zero‐time reference point is further checked by examining the time delay of the first maximum positive peak, and the results are quite consistent among difference traces.…”

Section: The Ce‐3 Lpr Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bulk Density of the Lunar Regolith at the Chang'E‐3 Landing Site as Estimated From Lunar Penetrating Radar

2020

Earth and Space Science

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Bulk density of the lunar regolith is a key factor affecting its geophysical and geotechnical properties. In this study, a new method for estimating the bulk density of the lunar regolith is developed based on the geometric characteristic (i.e., hyperbolic shape) of radar echoes in ground penetrating radar (GPR) image. As an application, bulk density of the lunar regolith at China's Chang'E‐3 (CE‐3) landing site is estimated using the Lunar Penetrating Radar data. In total, 57 hyperbolas are identified in the Lunar Penetrating Radar image and their eccentricities are used to estimate relative permittivity of the regolith. Then, bulk density of the lunar regolith is estimated using an empirical relation through its dependence on relative permittivity. The results show that bulk density of the regolith at the CE‐3 landing site increases with depth from 0.85 g/cm 3 at the surface to a steady‐state value of 2.25 g/cm 3 at 5 m, with an average gradient much smaller than that based on the Apollo regolith samples. The bulk density corresponds to a regolith porosity of 74.5% at the surface and 32.3% at 5 m depth over the CE‐3 landing region. Given that the landing site is only ∼50 m from the east rim of a 500 m diameter crater, named as Zi Wei, the steady‐state bulk density indicates a 29% volume fraction of subsurface rocks within the continuous ejecta of this crater.

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Section: The Ce‐3 Lpr Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bulk Density of the Lunar Regolith at the Chang'E‐3 Landing Site as Estimated From Lunar Penetrating Radar

2020

Earth and Space Science

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“…On 14 December 2013, China's Chang'E-3 (CE-3) spacecraft successfully landed on the east rim of a 500 m crater (hereafter named as CE-3 crater, Figure 1a) in Mare Imbrium. The dual-frequency lunar penetrating radar (LPR) aboard the Yutu rover Su et al, 2014;Zhang et al, 2014] provides a unique opportunity to map subsurface structure to a depth of several tens of meters with high resolution over a relatively larger region compared to core tube experiments. Initial analysis of the LPR observations, especially those from the low-frequency channel, indicates that there are more than nine subsurface layers from the surface to a depth of~360 m [Xiao et al, 2015].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regolith stratigraphy at the Chang'E‐3 landing site as seen by lunar penetrating radar

Zhu

Liu

et al. 2015

Geophysical Research Letters

122

132

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The Chang'E‐3 lunar penetrating radar (LPR) observations at 500 MHz reveal four major stratigraphic zones from the surface to a depth of ~20 m along the survey line: a layered reworked zone (<1 m), an ejecta layer (~2–6 m), a paleoregolith layer (~4–11 m), and the underlying mare basalts. The reworked zone has two to five distinct layers and consists of surface regolith. The paleoregolith buried by the ejecta from a 500 m crater is relatively homogenous and contains only a few rocks. Population of buried rocks increases with depth to ~2 m at first, and then decreases with depth, representing a balance between initial deposition of the ejecta and later turnover of the regolith. Combining with the surface age, the LPR observations indicate a mean accumulation rate of about 5–10 m/Gyr for the surface regolith, which is at least 4–8 times larger than previous estimation.

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“…The LPR began work at 10:50:32 (UTC) on December 15, 2013, and ran until 14:16:56 (UTC) on January 15, 2014, when it stopped working due to a mechanical problem after a total of 277 minutes of work on the lunar surface [17]. Channel 2 received 2351 valid data traces during that working period.…”

Section: Comparison Between the Lpr Data And Simulated Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Simulations of the Lunar Penetrating Radar and Investigations of the Geological Structures of the Lunar Regolith Layer at the Chang’E 3 Landing Site

Ding

Xing

et al. 2017

International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

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In the process of lunar exploration, and specifically when studying lunar surface structure and thickness, the established lunar regolith model is usually a uniform and ideal structural model, which is not well-suited to describe the real structure of the lunar regolith layer. The present study aims to explain the geological structural information contained in the channel 2 LPR (lunar penetrating radar) data. In this paper, the random medium theory and Apollo drilling core data are used to construct a modeling method based on discrete heterogeneous random media, and the simulation data are processed and collected by the electromagnetic numerical method FDTD (finite-difference time domain). When comparing the LPR data with the simulated data, the heterogeneous random medium model is more consistent with the actual distribution of the media in the lunar regolith layer. It is indicated that the interior structure of the lunar regolith layer at the landing site is not a pure lunar regolith medium but rather a regolith-rock mixture, with rocks of different sizes and shapes. Finally, several reasons are given to explain the formation of the geological structures of the lunar regolith layer at the Chang'E 3 landing site, as well as the possible geological stratification structure.

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Data processing and initial results of Chang'e-3 lunar penetrating radar

Cited by 98 publications

References 14 publications

Bulk Density of the Lunar Regolith at the Chang'E‐3 Landing Site as Estimated From Lunar Penetrating Radar

Bulk Density of the Lunar Regolith at the Chang'E‐3 Landing Site as Estimated From Lunar Penetrating Radar

Regolith stratigraphy at the Chang'E‐3 landing site as seen by lunar penetrating radar

Numerical Simulations of the Lunar Penetrating Radar and Investigations of the Geological Structures of the Lunar Regolith Layer at the Chang’E 3 Landing Site

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