Diviner Lunar Radiometer observations of cold traps in the Moon's south polar region.
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.
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 595 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. dap@moon.ucla.edu
David A
DA
Paige
Matthew A
MA
Siegler
Jo Ann
JA
Zhang
Paul O
PO
Hayne
Emily J
EJ
Foote
Kristen A
KA
Bennett
Ashwin R
AR
Vasavada
Benjamin T
BT
Greenhagen
John T
JT
Schofield
Daniel J
DJ
McCleese
Marc C
MC
Foote
Eric
E
DeJong
Bruce G
BG
Bills
Wayne
W
Hartford
Bruce C
BC
Murray
Carlton C
CC
Allen
Kelly
K
Snook
Laurence A
LA
Soderblom
Simon
S
Calcutt
Fredric W
FW
Taylor
Neil E
NE
Bowles
Joshua L
JL
Bandfield
Richard
R
Elphic
Rebecca
R
Ghent
Timothy D
TD
Glotch
Michael B
MB
Wyatt
Paul G
PG
Lucey
D003080:Cold Temperature; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D007053:Ice; D016081:Moon; D011874:Radiometry; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared
D007053:Ice