Diviner Lunar Radiometer observations of the LCROSS impact.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner instrument detected a thermal emission signature 90 seconds after the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Centaur impact and on two subsequent orbits. The impact heated a region of 30 to 200 square meters to at least 950 kelvin, providing a sustained heat source for the sublimation of up to ~300 kilograms of water ice during the 4 minutes of LCROSS post-impact observations. Diviner visible observations constrain the mass of the sunlit ejecta column to be ~10(-6) to 10(-5) kilograms per square meter, which is consistent with LCROSS estimates used to derive the relative abundance of the ice within the regolith.
Hayne
Paul O
PO
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. phayne@ucla.edu
Greenhagen
Benjamin T
BT
Foote
Marc C
MC
Siegler
Matthew A
MA
Vasavada
Ashwin R
AR
Paige
David A
DA
D007053:Ice; D016081:Moon; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared; D014835:Volatilization
D007053:Ice