Related papers: Re-evaluation of Lunar X-ray observations by Apoll…
Global lunar chemical maps are essential for understanding the origin and evolution of the Moon, its surface characteristics, and its potential for resource extraction. Lunar elemental abundance maps have been derived using X-ray and gamma…
X-ray fluorescence remote sensing technique plays a significant role in the chemical compositions research of the Moon. Here we describe the data analysis method for China's Chang'E-2 X-ray spectrometer (CE2XRS) in detail and present the…
Analysis of Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) data provides science results: gravitational physics and ephemeris information from the orbit, lunar science from rotation and solid-body tides, and Earth science. Sensitive tests of gravitational…
The X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS) on the MESSENGER spacecraft provided measurements of major-element ratios across Mercury's surface. We present global maps of Mg/Si, Al/Si, S/Si, Ca/Si, and Fe/Si derived from XRS data collected throughout…
The passive retroreflector arrays placed on the moon by Apollo 11, 14 and 15 astronauts continue to produce valuable Earth-Moon range measurements that enable high-precision tests of gravitational physics, as well as studies of geo- and…
Lunar impact glasses, quenched melts produced during cratering events on the Moon, have the potential to provide not only compositional information about both the local and regional geology of the Moon but also information about the impact…
The valence states of Mg-Al alloys are compared to those of reference materials (pure Mg and Al metals, and intermetallics). Two methods based on X-ray emission spectroscopy are proposed to determine the phases and their proportion: first,…
Major elements such as Fe, Ti, Mg, Al, Ca, and Si play very important roles in understanding the origin and evolution of the Moon. Previous maps of these major elements derived from orbital data are based on mosaic images or low-resolution…
The content of $\mathrm{OH/H_2O}$ molecules in the tenuous exosphere of the Moon is still an open issue at present. We here report an unprecedented upper limit of the content of the OH radicals, which is obtained from the in-situ…
Direct measurements of the abundance of argon in the lunar atmosphere were made in 1973 by instruments placed on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission, but the total daytime abundance is unknown due to instrument saturation effects; thus,…
Aims. Lunar soil and rocks are not protected by a magnetic field or an atmosphere and are continuously irradiated by energetic particles that can produce cosmogenic radioisotopes directly inside rocks at different depths depending on the…
The first in-situ measurements of the altitude profile of Martian upper atmospheric density and composition were carried out by the Viking lander missions in 1976. The MAVEN and MOM spacecraft launched in September 2014 with mass…
We perform the first tests of various proposed explanations for observed features of the Moon's argon exosphere, including models of: spatially varying surface interactions; a source that reflects the lunar near-surface potassium…
Constraints on the interior of the Moon have been derived from its inductive response, principally as measured by the magnetic transfer function (TF) between the distantly orbiting Explorer 35 satellite and the Apollo 12 surface station.…
In the past, clues on the potential radiogenic activity of the lunar interior have been obtained from the isotopic composition of noble gases like Argon. Excess Argon (40) relative to Argon (36), as compared to the solar wind composition,…
This study introduces a data-driven approach using machine learning (ML) techniques to explore and predict albedo anomalies on the Moon's surface. The research leverages diverse planetary datasets, including high-spatial-resolution albedo…
Subsequent to the Moon's formation, late accretion to the terrestrial planets strongly modified the physical and chemical nature of silicate crusts and mantles. This alteration came in the form of melting through impacts, as well as the…
The amount and distribution of water on the lunar surface are related to the input and production of water by solar wind and meteoroid bombardment, balanced by photodestruction and mobility across the surface. Using the Stratospheric…
Laser pulses fired at retroreflectors on the Moon provide very accurate ranges. Analysis yields information on Earth, Moon, and orbit. The highly accurate retroreflector positions have uncertainties less than a meter. Tides on the Moon show…
Here we critically examine the geophysical and geochemical properties of the Moon in order to identify the extent to which dynamical scenarios satisfy these observations. New joint inversions of existing lunar geophysical data (mean mass,…