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| ID No : | 637 Edit | Title: | Several Searches for Short-Term Changes in the Lunar Surface |
| Summary / Review : | "Several phenomena have been traced to the transient production of volatiles at or near the lunar surface, and these may or may not be related. The understanding of some or all of these phenomena may prove crucial to future lunar exploration. Herein we describe several investigations that are underway or recently completed to search for such changes, using novel techniques, We plan to present results from all or some of these at the meeting. Volatiles in the form of hydration (water and/or hydroxyl) were detected in the outer layer of lunar regolith by several spacecraft recently. [1,2,3] Speculation as to the origin of this signal includes the reaction of solar wind protons with regolithic oxygen. Other forms of lunar hydration are found intrinsic to several types of lunar materials. [4,5,6] A third source consists of significant masses of ice retained in permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles, probably of cometary/meteoritic origin. [7,8] Several prior reports of hydrated lunar material can be found. [9, 10,11] Before the recent hydration results, lunar volatiles were also detected in transient '"Rn outgassing events, seen with alpha-particle spectrometers on Apollo 15 and Lunar Prospector. [12,13,14] Episodic outgassing is also indicated for the major lunar atmospheric mass constituent Ar-40. [15] Recently, this 22R2 activity has been shown to correlate at high significance with lunar optical transient activity. [16,17] This correspondence can plausibly be understood in terms of gas from the lunar interior accumulating at the base of the regolith at a rate so fast as to release explosively rather than percolate slowly to the surface. [18] Curiously, the predicted spatial scale and timescale of such explosive outgassing events correspond closely to those typically reported for lunar optical surface transients." (Author's abstract) |
| Author(s) : |
Crotts, Arlin, [NASA (Unspecified Center)] |
| Publication Date: | 2010 |
| Category(s) : |
Exploration and resources / Lunar / Geology and resources / Volatiles |
| Progress Type: | A ( A=Analysis only, D=Design, T=Testing, C=Completed or Commercial product ) |
| Web URL : |
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110012496
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| PERMANENT code(s) : | L,U |
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| NTRS : | 20110012496 |
| Submitted by : | MEP |
| Comments: |
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