title: The crust of the Moon as seen by GRAIL.
abstract: High-resolution gravity data obtained from the dual Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft show that the bulk density of the Moon's highlands crust is 2550 kilograms per cubic meter, substantially lower than generally assumed. When combined with remote sensing and sample data, this density implies an average crustal porosity of 12% to depths of at least a few kilometers. Lateral variations in crustal porosity correlate with the largest impact basins, whereas lateral variations in crustal density correlate with crustal composition. The low-bulk crustal density allows construction of a global crustal thickness model that satisfies the Apollo seismic constraints, and with an average crustal thickness between 34 and 43 kilometers, the bulk refractory element composition of the Moon is not required to be enriched with respect to that of Earth.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot, Case 7071, Lamarck A, 5, rue Thomas Mann, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France. wieczor@ipgp.fr
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wieczorek
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nimmo
authors.forename: Walter S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Kiefer
authors.forename: G Jeffrey
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: H Jay
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Melosh
authors.forename: Roger J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Sean C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: Jeffrey C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Andrews-Hanna
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: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Maria T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Zuber