The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)

The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M ^3 ) on the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft provided nearly global 0.5–3 μ m imaging-spectroscopy data at 140 m pixel ^–1 in 85 spectral bands. Targeted locations were imaged at 70 m pixel ^–1 and higher spectral resolution. These data enable a detailed look at the mineralogy,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Roger N. Clark, Neil C. Pearson, Thomas B. McCord, Deborah L. Domingue, Keith Eric Livo, Joseph W. Boardman, Daniel P. Moriarty, Amanda R. Hendrix, Georgiana Kramer, Maria E. Banks
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2024-01-01
Series:The Planetary Science Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad5837
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850100794416693248
author Roger N. Clark
Neil C. Pearson
Thomas B. McCord
Deborah L. Domingue
Keith Eric Livo
Joseph W. Boardman
Daniel P. Moriarty
Amanda R. Hendrix
Georgiana Kramer
Maria E. Banks
author_facet Roger N. Clark
Neil C. Pearson
Thomas B. McCord
Deborah L. Domingue
Keith Eric Livo
Joseph W. Boardman
Daniel P. Moriarty
Amanda R. Hendrix
Georgiana Kramer
Maria E. Banks
author_sort Roger N. Clark
collection DOAJ
description The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M ^3 ) on the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft provided nearly global 0.5–3 μ m imaging-spectroscopy data at 140 m pixel ^–1 in 85 spectral bands. Targeted locations were imaged at 70 m pixel ^–1 and higher spectral resolution. These data enable a detailed look at the mineralogy, hydroxyl, and water signatures exposed on the lunar surface. We find evidence for multiple processes, including probable solar wind implantation, excavation of hydroxyl-poor and water-poor material in cratering events, excavation of hydroxyl and water-rich materials from depth and global trends with rock type and latitude. Some water-rich areas display sharp boundaries with water-poor rocks but have a diffuse halo of hydroxyl surrounding the water-rich rocks indicating a weathering process of destruction of water, probably due to a regolith gardening process. Mapping for specific mineralogy shows evidence for absorptions near 2.2 μ m, probably associated with smectites, and near 1.9 μ m due to water. Lunar swirls are confirmed to be OH-poor, but we also find evidence that swirls are water-poor based on a weak 1.9 μ m water band. Some swirls show enhanced pyroxene absorption. “Diurnal” signatures are found with stable minerals. Pyroxene is shown to exhibit strong band depth changes with the diurnal cycle, which directly tracks the solar incidence angle and is consistent with changing composition and/or grain size with depth. Mapping of M ^3 data for the presence of iron oxides (e.g., hematite and goethite) is found to be a false signature in the M ^3 data due to scattered light in the instrument.
format Article
id doaj-art-eb86e6970faf49798bcabbba0181c3b4
institution DOAJ
issn 2632-3338
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series The Planetary Science Journal
spelling doaj-art-eb86e6970faf49798bcabbba0181c3b42025-08-20T02:40:13ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382024-01-015919810.3847/PSJ/ad5837The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)Roger N. Clark0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7021-1220Neil C. Pearson1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0183-1581Thomas B. McCord2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5130-4360Deborah L. Domingue3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7594-4634Keith Eric Livo4Joseph W. Boardman5Daniel P. Moriarty6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6320-2337Amanda R. Hendrix7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0435-8224Georgiana Kramer8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8006-7939Maria E. Banks9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8236-7396Planetary Sciences Institute , Tucson, AZ, USA ; rclark@psi.eduPlanetary Sciences Institute , Tucson, AZ, USA ; rclark@psi.eduPlanetary Sciences Institute , Tucson, AZ, USA ; rclark@psi.eduPlanetary Sciences Institute , Tucson, AZ, USA ; rclark@psi.eduU.S. Geological Survey , Denver, CO, USAAnalytical Imaging and Geophysics , LLC, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , USA; University of Maryland , College Park, USA; Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science & Technology II , USAPlanetary Sciences Institute , Tucson, AZ, USA ; rclark@psi.eduPlanetary Sciences Institute , Tucson, AZ, USA ; rclark@psi.eduNASA Goddard Space Flight Center , USAThe Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M ^3 ) on the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft provided nearly global 0.5–3 μ m imaging-spectroscopy data at 140 m pixel ^–1 in 85 spectral bands. Targeted locations were imaged at 70 m pixel ^–1 and higher spectral resolution. These data enable a detailed look at the mineralogy, hydroxyl, and water signatures exposed on the lunar surface. We find evidence for multiple processes, including probable solar wind implantation, excavation of hydroxyl-poor and water-poor material in cratering events, excavation of hydroxyl and water-rich materials from depth and global trends with rock type and latitude. Some water-rich areas display sharp boundaries with water-poor rocks but have a diffuse halo of hydroxyl surrounding the water-rich rocks indicating a weathering process of destruction of water, probably due to a regolith gardening process. Mapping for specific mineralogy shows evidence for absorptions near 2.2 μ m, probably associated with smectites, and near 1.9 μ m due to water. Lunar swirls are confirmed to be OH-poor, but we also find evidence that swirls are water-poor based on a weak 1.9 μ m water band. Some swirls show enhanced pyroxene absorption. “Diurnal” signatures are found with stable minerals. Pyroxene is shown to exhibit strong band depth changes with the diurnal cycle, which directly tracks the solar incidence angle and is consistent with changing composition and/or grain size with depth. Mapping of M ^3 data for the presence of iron oxides (e.g., hematite and goethite) is found to be a false signature in the M ^3 data due to scattered light in the instrument.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad5837The MoonLunar compositionLunar mariaLunar highlandsLunar regolithInfrared spectroscopy
spellingShingle Roger N. Clark
Neil C. Pearson
Thomas B. McCord
Deborah L. Domingue
Keith Eric Livo
Joseph W. Boardman
Daniel P. Moriarty
Amanda R. Hendrix
Georgiana Kramer
Maria E. Banks
The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)
The Planetary Science Journal
The Moon
Lunar composition
Lunar maria
Lunar highlands
Lunar regolith
Infrared spectroscopy
title The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)
title_full The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)
title_fullStr The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)
title_full_unstemmed The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)
title_short The Global Distribution of Water and Hydroxyl on the Moon as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)
title_sort global distribution of water and hydroxyl on the moon as seen by the moon mineralogy mapper m3
topic The Moon
Lunar composition
Lunar maria
Lunar highlands
Lunar regolith
Infrared spectroscopy
url https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad5837
work_keys_str_mv AT rogernclark theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT neilcpearson theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT thomasbmccord theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT deborahldomingue theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT keithericlivo theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT josephwboardman theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT danielpmoriarty theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT amandarhendrix theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT georgianakramer theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT mariaebanks theglobaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT rogernclark globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT neilcpearson globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT thomasbmccord globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT deborahldomingue globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT keithericlivo globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT josephwboardman globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT danielpmoriarty globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT amandarhendrix globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT georgianakramer globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3
AT mariaebanks globaldistributionofwaterandhydroxylonthemoonasseenbythemoonmineralogymapperm3