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Temperatures of the Lacus Mortis region of the Moon

December 24, 2021

Over 11 years of data acquired by the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment instrument aboard Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have been compiled into a comprehensive data set of surface temperatures in the Lacus Mortis region which includes the landing ellipse of the Astrobotic Mission One lander mission. These data provide diurnal brightness temperatures at 128 pixels per degree (ppd) spatial resolution and 0.1 hr of local time resolution. From this data set, we highlight several features that display variations in radiative and thermophysical properties in the Lacus Mortis region and characterize the temperatures of the Astrobotic Mission One landing ellipse. We identify distinctly contrasting properties of materials in the walls of Bürg crater, hummocks of materials on the southeast margin of the mare basalts, and materials exposed or excavated by impacts. Additionally, we describe an exceptionally rocky fault scarp that predates the formation of Bürg crater suggesting the observed boulders are replenished on a timescale <1 Ga. Within the Astrobotic landing ellipse, temperatures are observed to range from ∼88 to ∼359 K with sunrise and sunset local times constrained to 5.8–6.3 hr and 17.8 and 18.1 hr respectively.

Publication Year 2022
Title Temperatures of the Lacus Mortis region of the Moon
DOI 10.1029/2021EA001966
Authors J.-P. Williams, Benjamin T Greenhagen, Kristen A. Bennett, David Paige, Nandita Kumari, Caitlin Ahrens, Lior Rubanenko, Tyler Powell, Parvathy Prem, David T. Blewett, Patrick Russell, Paul O. Hayne, Mark Sullivan
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Earth and Space Science
Index ID 70231535
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Astrogeology Science Center