title: Gravity field of the Moon from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission.
abstract: Spacecraft-to-spacecraft tracking observations from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) have been used to construct a gravitational field of the Moon to spherical harmonic degree and order 420. The GRAIL field reveals features not previously resolved, including tectonic structures, volcanic landforms, basin rings, crater central peaks, and numerous simple craters. From degrees 80 through 300, over 98% of the gravitational signature is associated with topography, a result that reflects the preservation of crater relief in highly fractured crust. The remaining 2% represents fine details of subsurface structure not previously resolved. GRAIL elucidates the role of impact bombardment in homogenizing the distribution of shallow density anomalies on terrestrial planetary bodies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA. zuber@mit.edu
authors.forename: Maria T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Zuber
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: Sami W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Asmar
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Konopliv
authors.forename: Frank G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Lemoine
authors.forename: H Jay
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Melosh
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Roger J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Sean C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wieczorek
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Sander J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Goossens
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kruizinga
authors.forename: Erwan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mazarico
authors.forename: Ryan S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Dah-Ning
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Yuan