Water Ice and the Shallow Regolith Structure of the Shackleton Crater, the Moon: Implications for Future Chang’E-7 In Situ Radar Observation

The unique lighting conditions and environmental characteristics of the lunar polar region create favorable conditions for the accumulation and preservation of water ice, making detecting water ice in the polar permanent shadow regions (PSRs) of significant scientific and practical importance. The S...

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Main Authors: Lijie Mo, Jiangwan Xu, Zehua Dong, Jiawei Li, Yan Su, Chunyu Ding
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2025-01-01
Series:Space: Science & Technology
Online Access:https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/space.0225
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author Lijie Mo
Jiangwan Xu
Zehua Dong
Jiawei Li
Yan Su
Chunyu Ding
author_facet Lijie Mo
Jiangwan Xu
Zehua Dong
Jiawei Li
Yan Su
Chunyu Ding
author_sort Lijie Mo
collection DOAJ
description The unique lighting conditions and environmental characteristics of the lunar polar region create favorable conditions for the accumulation and preservation of water ice, making detecting water ice in the polar permanent shadow regions (PSRs) of significant scientific and practical importance. The Shackleton crater, located near the south pole of the Moon, is believed to be rich in large amounts of water ice deposits within its PSRs, making it a promising potential landing site for the future Chinese Chang’E-7 (CE-7) mission. This paper provides a comprehensive review of water ice detection methods in the Shackleton crater, encompassing Moon-based radars, neutron detectors, spectrometers, etc. The results suggest the probable presence of water ice in the Shackleton crater, particularly within its PSRs, possibly distributed locally from the surface to several meters deep. However, current remote sensing techniques have limitations, necessitating future in situ exploration missions to directly confirm the presence of water ice. This paper aims to contribute to the detection of water ice and the assessment of the regolith structure using the CE-7 ground-penetrating radar, providing a comprehensive reference for future investigations in the Shackleton crater.
format Article
id doaj-art-1d926cf95fc248489fb5d413798a03fa
institution Kabale University
issn 2692-7659
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
record_format Article
series Space: Science & Technology
spelling doaj-art-1d926cf95fc248489fb5d413798a03fa2025-08-20T03:26:04ZengAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Space: Science & Technology2692-76592025-01-01510.34133/space.0225Water Ice and the Shallow Regolith Structure of the Shackleton Crater, the Moon: Implications for Future Chang’E-7 In Situ Radar ObservationLijie Mo0Jiangwan Xu1Zehua Dong2Jiawei Li3Yan Su4Chunyu Ding5Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, Guangdong, China.Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, Guangdong, China.Radar Technology Research Institute, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, China National Space Administration, Beijing 100086, China.Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, National Astronomical Observatories, Beijing 100049, China.Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, Guangdong, China.The unique lighting conditions and environmental characteristics of the lunar polar region create favorable conditions for the accumulation and preservation of water ice, making detecting water ice in the polar permanent shadow regions (PSRs) of significant scientific and practical importance. The Shackleton crater, located near the south pole of the Moon, is believed to be rich in large amounts of water ice deposits within its PSRs, making it a promising potential landing site for the future Chinese Chang’E-7 (CE-7) mission. This paper provides a comprehensive review of water ice detection methods in the Shackleton crater, encompassing Moon-based radars, neutron detectors, spectrometers, etc. The results suggest the probable presence of water ice in the Shackleton crater, particularly within its PSRs, possibly distributed locally from the surface to several meters deep. However, current remote sensing techniques have limitations, necessitating future in situ exploration missions to directly confirm the presence of water ice. This paper aims to contribute to the detection of water ice and the assessment of the regolith structure using the CE-7 ground-penetrating radar, providing a comprehensive reference for future investigations in the Shackleton crater.https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/space.0225
spellingShingle Lijie Mo
Jiangwan Xu
Zehua Dong
Jiawei Li
Yan Su
Chunyu Ding
Water Ice and the Shallow Regolith Structure of the Shackleton Crater, the Moon: Implications for Future Chang’E-7 In Situ Radar Observation
Space: Science & Technology
title Water Ice and the Shallow Regolith Structure of the Shackleton Crater, the Moon: Implications for Future Chang’E-7 In Situ Radar Observation
title_full Water Ice and the Shallow Regolith Structure of the Shackleton Crater, the Moon: Implications for Future Chang’E-7 In Situ Radar Observation
title_fullStr Water Ice and the Shallow Regolith Structure of the Shackleton Crater, the Moon: Implications for Future Chang’E-7 In Situ Radar Observation
title_full_unstemmed Water Ice and the Shallow Regolith Structure of the Shackleton Crater, the Moon: Implications for Future Chang’E-7 In Situ Radar Observation
title_short Water Ice and the Shallow Regolith Structure of the Shackleton Crater, the Moon: Implications for Future Chang’E-7 In Situ Radar Observation
title_sort water ice and the shallow regolith structure of the shackleton crater the moon implications for future chang e 7 in situ radar observation
url https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/space.0225
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