Diviner lunar radiometer observations of cold traps in the Moon’s south polar region
Abstract
Watering the Moon About a year ago, a spent upper stage of an Atlas rocket was deliberately crashed into a crater at the south pole of the Moon, ejecting a plume of debris, dust, and vapor. The goal of this event, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) experiment, was to search for water and other volatiles in the soil of one of the coldest places on the Moon: the permanently shadowed region within the Cabeus crater. Using ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectroscopy data from accompanying craft, Colaprete et al. (p. 463 ; see the news story by Kerr ; see the cover) found evidence for the presence of water and other volatiles within the ejecta cloud. Schultz et al. (p. 468 ) monitored the different stages of the impact and the resulting plume. Gladstone et al. (p. 472 ), using an ultraviolet spectrograph onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), detected H 2 , CO, Ca, Hg, and Mg in the impact plume, and Hayne et al. (p. 477 ) measured the thermal signature of the impact and discovered that it had heated a 30 to 200 square-meter region from ∼40 kelvin to at least 950 kelvin. Paige et al. (p. 479) mapped cryogenic zones predictive of volatile entrapment, and Mitrofanov et al. (p. 483 ) used LRO instruments to confirm that surface temperatures in the south polar region persist even in sunlight. In all, about 155 kilograms of water vapor was emitted during the impact; meanwhile, the LRO continues to orbit the Moon, sending back a stream of data to help us understand the evolution of its complex surface structures.
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One of the primary environmental concerns on the Moon is the extreme temperature gradients, and research on determining the Lunar surface and subsurface temperature has been ongoing.
“One of the primary environmental concerns on the Moon is the extreme temperature gradients, and research on determining the Lunar surface and subsurface temperature has been ongoing [16-24].”
From A comprehensive review of lunar-based manufacturing and construction (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
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- Authors
- Paige, D. A., Siegler, M. A., Zhang, J. A., Hayne, P. O., Foote, E. J., Bennett, K. A., Vasavada, A. R., Greenhagen, B. T., Schofield, J. T., McCleese, D. J., Foote, M. C., DeJong, E., Bills, B. G., Hartford, W., Murray, B. C., Allen, C. C., Snook, K., Soderblom, L. A., Calcutt, S., Taylor, F. W., Bowles, N. E., Bandfield, J. L., Elphic, R., Ghent, R., Glotch, T. D., Wyatt, M. B., & Lucey, P. G.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Johnson Space Center (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- United States Geological Survey (US)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- University of Washington (US)
- Ames Research Center (US)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Stony Brook University (US)
- Brown University (US)
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
- Corresponding author
- Paige, David A.
- ORCID
- Paige, David A.
- Siegler, Matthew A.
- Hayne, Paul O.
- Bennett, Kristen A.
- Vasavada, Ashwin R.
- Greenhagen, Benjamin T.
- Schofield, John T.
- Foote, Marc C.
- Bills, Bruce G.
- Allen, Carlton C.
- Snook, Kelly
- Soderblom, Laurence A.
- Calcutt, Simon
- Taylor, Fredric W.
- Bowles, Neil E.
- Bandfield, Joshua L.
- Elphic, Richard
- Ghent, Rebecca
- Glotch, Timothy D.
- Lucey, Paul G.
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2010-10-22
- Volume
- 330
- Issue
- 6003
- Pages
- 479-482
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W1995424719
- Cited by
- 527
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 53 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 27
- FWCI
- 11.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/H00243X/1)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Planetary Science and Exploration
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Spacecraft Design and Technology
- Keywords
- permanently shadowed regions, lunar south pole, water on the Moon, lunar volatiles, Diviner Lunar Radiometer, lunar surface temperature
- MeSH terms
- Cold Temperature, Extraterrestrial Environment, Ice, Radiometry, Spectrophotometry, Infrared, Moon
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