Global Maps of Lunar Neutron Fluxes from the LEND Instrument

Abstract

The latest neutron spectrometer measurements with the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) are presented. It covers more than 1 year of mapping phase starting on 15 September 2009. In our analyses we have created global maps showing regional variations in the flux of thermal (energy range 0.5 MeV), and compared these fluxes to variances in soil elemental composition, and with previous results obtained by the Lunar Prospector Neutron Spectrometer (LPNS). We also processed data from LEND collimated detectors and derived a value for the collimated signal of epithermal neutrons based on the comparative analysis with the LEND omnidirectional detectors. Finally, we have compared our final (after the data reduction) global epithermal neutron map with LPNS data