Published October 22, 2010
| public
Journal Article
Diviner Lunar Radiometer Observations of Cold Traps in the Moon's South Polar Region
- Creators
- Paige, David A.
- Murray, Bruce C.
Abstract
Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment surface-temperature maps reveal the existence of widespread surface and near-surface cryogenic regions that extend beyond the boundaries of persistent shadow. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) struck one of the coldest of these regions, where subsurface temperatures are estimated to be 38 kelvin. Large areas of the lunar polar regions are currently cold enough to cold-trap water ice as well as a range of both more volatile and less volatile species. The diverse mixture of water and high-volatility compounds detected in the LCROSS ejecta plume is strong evidence for the impact delivery and cold-trapping of volatiles derived from primitive outer solar system bodies.
Additional Information
© 2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Received 1 February 2010; accepted 12 August 2010. We thank the many people at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Goddard Space Flight Center who contributed to the success of the Diviner instrument and the LRO project. We also thank the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for funding this investigation.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 20685
- DOI
- 10.1126/science.1187726
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20101105-105009225
- NASA
- Created
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2010-11-29Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field