5 research outputs found
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A Tale of Two Planet(ary bodie)s: The Origin of Ice on Mercury and the Moon
The low obliquity of Mercury and the Moon causes topographic depressions located near their poles to cast persistent shadows, which may cold-trap volatiles for geologic time periods. Despite their similar thermal environments, telescopic and remote sensing observations have previously detected thick, pure water ice deposits near the poles of Mercury but not the Moon - where ice was found to be superficial or mixed with the regolith. This work attempts to resolve the apparent difference between the two planetary bodies employing physical models and spacecraft observations. We study how topographic roughness affects the temperature distribution and the ensuing prevalence of cold-traps, and constrain the amount, age and origin of polar ice deposits on Mercury and the Moon. Our results suggest that the difference between the amount of cold-trapped volatiles on these planetary bodies may not be as significant as previously thought, and that the presence of heavier carbonaceous volatiles on Mercury may explain the higher purity of its ice deposits relative to the Moon
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Temperatures of the Lacus Mortis Region of the Moon
Over 11 years of data acquired by the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment instrument aboard Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have been compiled into a comprehensive data set of surface temperatures in the Lacus Mortis region which includes the landing ellipse of the Astrobotic Mission One lander mission. These data provide diurnal brightness temperatures at 128 pixels per degree (ppd) spatial resolution and 0.1 hr of local time resolution. From this data set, we highlight several features that display variations in radiative and thermophysical properties in the Lacus Mortis region and characterize the temperatures of the Astrobotic Mission One landing ellipse. We identify distinctly contrasting properties of materials in the walls of Bürg crater, hummocks of materials on the southeast margin of the mare basalts, and materials exposed or excavated by impacts. Additionally, we describe an exceptionally rocky fault scarp that predates the formation of Bürg crater suggesting the observed boulders are replenished on a timescale <1 Ga. Within the Astrobotic landing ellipse, temperatures are observed to range from ∼88 to ∼359 K with sunrise and sunset local times constrained to 5.8–6.3 hr and 17.8 and 18.1 hr respectively.
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Recommended from our members
A Tale of Two Planet(ary bodie)s: The Origin of Ice on Mercury and the Moon
The low obliquity of Mercury and the Moon causes topographic depressions located near their poles to cast persistent shadows, which may cold-trap volatiles for geologic time periods. Despite their similar thermal environments, telescopic and remote sensing observations have previously detected thick, pure water ice deposits near the poles of Mercury but not the Moon - where ice was found to be superficial or mixed with the regolith. This work attempts to resolve the apparent difference between the two planetary bodies employing physical models and spacecraft observations. We study how topographic roughness affects the temperature distribution and the ensuing prevalence of cold-traps, and constrain the amount, age and origin of polar ice deposits on Mercury and the Moon. Our results suggest that the difference between the amount of cold-trapped volatiles on these planetary bodies may not be as significant as previously thought, and that the presence of heavier carbonaceous volatiles on Mercury may explain the higher purity of its ice deposits relative to the Moon