Preliminary results of the Apollo 17 infrared scanning radiometer

Mendell, W. W.; Low, F. J.

doi:10.1007/bf00565396

Cited by 30 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The highly contrasting thermal conductivity between lunar rocks and regolith fines results in a large temperature contrast between these materials [ Roelof , 1968]. Previous work has used these properties to characterize the lunar surface using TIR telescopic measurements as well as the Apollo 17 Infrared Scanning Radiometer and the thermal imager on the Midcourse Science Experiment (MSX) [ Shorthill , 1970; Mendell and Low , 1974; Price et al , 2003].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lunar surface rock abundance and regolith fines temperatures derived from LRO Diviner Radiometer data

Bandfield¹,

Ghent²,

Vasavada³

et al. 2011

J. Geophys. Res.

282

385

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[1] Surface temperatures derived from thermal infrared measurements provide a means of understanding the physical properties of the lunar surface. The contrasting thermophysical properties between rocks and regolith fines cause multiple temperatures to be present within the field of view of nighttime multispectral data returned from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner Radiometer between 60°N/S latitudes. Regolith temperatures are influenced by the presence of rocks in addition to factors such as the thermophysical properties of the regolith fines, latitude and local slopes, and radiative heating from adjacent crater walls. Preliminary comparisons of derived rock concentrations with LRO Camera images show both qualitative and quantitative agreement. Although comparisons of derived rock concentrations with circular polarization ratio radar data sets display general similarities, there are clear differences between the two data sets in the relative magnitude and areal extent of rocky signatures. Several surface units can be distinguished based on their regolith temperature and rock concentration values and distributions including maria and highlands surfaces, rocky impact craters, rilles, and wrinkle ridges, dark mantled deposits, and isolated cold surfaces. Rock concentrations are correlated with crater age and rocks are only preserved on the youngest surfaces or where steep slopes occur and mass wasting prevents mantling with fines. The presence of rocky surfaces excavated by young impacts allows for the estimation of minimum regolith thickness from the size of the impact. The derived rock concentrations confirm the presence of thicker regolith cover in the highlands and in locations of radar-dark haloes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lunar surface rock abundance and regolith fines temperatures derived from LRO Diviner Radiometer data

Bandfield¹,

Ghent²,

Vasavada³

et al. 2011

J. Geophys. Res.

282

385

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Lunar nighttime surface temperatures are characterized by sensible heat stored in the subsurface during the day radiated to space and therefore are sensitive to the thermophysical properties of the near‐surface regolith to a depth of the diurnal thermal wave, ~40 cm (Hayne et al, ; Vasavada et al, , ; Williams, Paige, et al, ). These thermophysically distinct surfaces, or “cold spots,” which were initially observed by the Infrared Scanning Radiometer aboard the Apollo 17 Command‐Service Module (Mendell & Low, , ), indicate that impacts modify the surrounding regolith surfaces, making them highly insulating with little evidence for either significant deposition or erosion of surface material (Bandfield et al, ). Cold spots appear to be common to all recent impacts and degrade relatively rapidly in the lunar space environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lunar Cold Spots and Crater Production on the Moon

et al. 2018

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Mapping of lunar nighttime surface temperatures has revealed anomalously low nighttime temperatures around recently formed impact craters on the Moon. The thermophysically distinct “cold spots” provide a way of identifying the most recently formed impact craters. Over 2,000 cold spot source craters were measured with diameters ranging from 43 m to 2.3 km. Comparison of the crater size‐frequency distribution with crater chronology models and crater counts of superposed craters on the ejecta of the largest cold spot craters constrains the retention time of the cold spots to no more than ~0.5–1.0 Myr with smaller cold spots possibly retained for only few hundred kyr. This would suggest a relatively rapid impact gardening rate with regolith overturn depths exceeding ~5 cm over this time scale. We observe a longitudinal heterogeneity in the cold spot distribution that reflects the Moon's synchronous rotation with a higher density of cold spots at the apex of motion. The magnitude of the asymmetry indicates the craters formed from a population of objects with low mean encounter velocities ~8.4 km/s. The larger cold spots (D > 800 m) do not follow this trend, and are concentrated on the trailing farside. This could result from a shorter retention time for larger cold spots on the leading hemisphere due to the greater number of smaller, superposed impacts. Alternatively, the abundance of large cold spots on the trailing farside resulted from a swarm of 100‐m‐scale impactors striking the Moon within the last ~0.5 Myr.

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“…The Apollo 17 Infrared Scanning Radiometer (ISR) experiment acquired thermal maps of approximately 25% of the lunar surface at a resolution of better than 10 km (Mendell and Low 1974). The instrument recorded brightness temperatures in a single uncooled thermopile bolometer channel with a spectral sensitivity of 1.2 to 70 µm that ranged from 80 to 400 K with ±2 K absolute precision.…”

Section: Past Ground-based and Spacecraft Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

Paige¹,

Foote²,

Greenhagen³

et al. 2009

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission

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The Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be the first instrument to systematically map the global thermal state of the Moon and its diurnal and seasonal variability. Diviner will measure reflected solar and emitted infrared radiation in nine spectral channels with wavelengths ranging from 0.3 to 400 microns. The resulting measurements will enable characterization of the lunar thermal environment, mapping surface properties such as thermal inertia, rock abundance and silicate mineralogy, and determination of the locations and temperatures of volatile cold traps in the lunar polar regions.

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Preliminary results of the Apollo 17 infrared scanning radiometer

Cited by 30 publications

References 4 publications

Lunar surface rock abundance and regolith fines temperatures derived from LRO Diviner Radiometer data

Lunar surface rock abundance and regolith fines temperatures derived from LRO Diviner Radiometer data

Lunar Cold Spots and Crater Production on the Moon

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

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