Sodium distribution on the Moon
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Abstract The Moon is significantly depleted in volatile elements when compared to Earth, an observation that has resulted in various formation scenarios leading to the loss of volatiles. Sodium is a moderately volatile element that is a lithophile, which can be utilized as a tracer of the volatile history in planetary bodies. It is also well observed in the exosphere of several bodies in our solar system and exoplanetary systems. But lunar surface sodium abundances have so far been measured only in samples brought back to Earth. We report on results from the first effort to provide a global-scale measurement of sodium on the lunar surface using X-ray fluorescent spectra from Chandrayaan-2. A global average of 1.33 ± 0.03 wt% derived here is higher than previously known. Trends in the sodium abundance indicate a long-lived adsorbate component that could explain the higher abundances reported here, which would act as a reservoir that sustains the lunar sodium exosphere.
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Narendranath et al. derived a global average sodium distribution on the Lunar surface of 1.33 ± 0.03 wt%.
“Narendranath et al. mapped the sodium distribution on the Lunar surface for the first time and derived a global average of 1.33 ± 0.03 wt% [353].”
From A comprehensive review of lunar-based manufacturing and construction (2024) · cites this paper as [353]
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Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Merkel, A. W., Vervack, R. J., Jr+, Killen, R. M., et al. 2018, GeoRL, 45, 6790 · DOI
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A comprehensive review of lunar-based manufacturing and construction
Azami, M., Kazemi, Z., Moazen, S., Dubé, M., Potvin, M.-J., & Skonieczny, K. (2024) · Progress in Aerospace Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.paerosci.2024.101045 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
- Authors
- Narendranath, S., Pillai, N. S., Tadepalli, S. P., Sarantos, M., Vadodariya, K., Sarwade, A., V, R., & Tyagi, A.
- Affiliations
- Indian Space Research Organisation (IN)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Publisher
- American Astronomical Society
- Published
- 2022-09-26
- Volume
- 937
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- L23
- ISSN
- 2041-8205 (ISSN-L)
- 2041-8213
- OpenAlex
- W4297359672
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5
- FWCI
- 1.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- 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 › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › History and Developments in Astronomy
- Keywords
- lunar surface composition, volatile depletion, lunar exosphere, X-ray fluorescence, Chandrayaan-2
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