Potential Lunar Base on Mons Malapert: Topographic, Geologic and Trafficability Considerations

Upcoming missions to the lunar south pole require detailed maps over large areas to fully characterize landing sites locally and regionally and to place their data into proper geologic context. To that end, we enhanced the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter altimetry data set for the south polar region, from which we produced new maps of topography, topographic roughness, and permanently shadowed regions (PSRs). The roughness maps reveal a diversity of terrains characterized by hectometer-scale roughness that is controlled in this region primarily by cratering and downslope mass transport. The south polar region is littered with linear roughness features of order ∼1–10 km wide and approximately tens to hundreds of kilometers long hypothesized to be secondary impacts within extended ejecta rays. Nonuniformities in these features could reflect variations in secondary impactor properties and/or target terrain properties. Poleward of 80° S, the PSR cumulative size–frequency distribution (CSFD) shows an approximately power-law behavior whose exponent has a spatial variation of ∼10%. PSRs with areas <1 km2 contain 15% ± 5% of the total PSR area. Finally, we studied the effect of false positives and false negatives on the accuracy of the measured PSR CSFD and on the area for any individual PSR. The new maps presented here have many applications in the science and exploration of the lunar south polar region, such as geologic mapping and traverse planning.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Roughness Mapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New View of the Lunar South Pole from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)

Barker,

Mazarico,

Neumann

et al. 2023

“…A number of the 13 regions and other sites within the SPR now have coverage with 5 mpp LOLA LDEM gridded topography mosaics (Barker et al 2021). For an example of SfS refinement of an LDEM, we highlight the Malapert Massif landing region that was chosen for the Artemis III Geology Team EVA planning exercise and has also garnered significant interest as a candidate for future human landings (e.g., Basilevsky et al 2019Basilevsky et al , 2023Longo 2023).…”

Section: Lola Ldem: Malapert Massif (Artemis)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shape-from-shading Refinement of LOLA and LROC NAC Digital Elevation Models: Applications to Upcoming Human and Robotic Exploration of the Moon

Boatwright,

Head

2024

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has returned a wealth of remotely sensed data of the Moon over the past 15 years. As preparations are under way to return humans to the lunar surface with the Artemis campaign, LRO data have become a cornerstone for the characterization of potential sites of scientific and exploration interest on the Moon's surface. One critical aspect of landing site selection is knowledge of topography, slope, and surface hazards. Digital elevation models derived from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) instruments can provide this information at scales of meters to decameters. Shape-from-shading (SfS), or photoclinometry, is a technique for independently deriving surface height information by correlating surface reflectance with incidence angle and can theoretically approach an effective resolution equivalent to the input images themselves, typically better than 1 m per pixel with the LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC). We present a high-level, semiautomated pipeline that utilizes preexisting Ames Stereo Pipeline tools along with image alignment and parallel processing routines to generate SfS-refined digital elevation models using LRO data. In addition to the present focus on the lunar south pole with Artemis, we also demonstrate the usefulness of SfS for characterizing meter-scale lunar topography at lower equatorial latitudes.

“…Analytical studies based on these data sets and associated modeling, e.g., direct solar (primary) illumination maps for the poles (Mazarico et al 2011;Speyerer & Robinson 2013;Gläser et al 2018) and polar seasonal temperature and volatile stability maps (Williams et al 2019;Schorghofer & Williams 2020;Schorghofer et al 2021;Landis et al 2022), have further added to higher-order data sets. Recent A3CLR exploration and morphologic case studies (e.g., Basilevsky et al 2019;Lemelin et al 2021;Bernhardt et al 2022;Boazman et al 2022;Brown et al 2022;Anzalone et al 2023;Kring et al 2023;Williams et al 2023) have used these data sets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Secondary Illumination in Permanent Shadows within Artemis III Candidate Landing Regions

Mahanti,

Williams,

Robinson

et al. 2024

Investigations that can be conducted at the Artemis III candidate landing regions will benefit from the knowledge of the thermal environment within permanently shadowed regions (PSRs). Within PSRs, secondary illumination controls the surface temperature, varying diurnally and seasonally, affecting the stability and concentration of volatiles cold-trapped within the PSRs. In this case study, we characterize the dynamic nature of secondary illumination at four PSRs that overlap five of the Artemis III candidate landing regions. Our analysis is based on secondary illumination model-generated images paired with PSR images acquired by ShadowCam on board the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter. We find that illumination and thermal conditions can change rapidly within the PSRs, and knowledge of time-variable secondary illumination can be decisive for the efficient design of investigations and sample collection operations at the PSRs.