Diviner Lunar Radiometer observations of the LCROSS impact

Science. 2010 Oct 22;330(6003):477-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1197135.

Abstract

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner instrument detected a thermal emission signature 90 seconds after the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Centaur impact and on two subsequent orbits. The impact heated a region of 30 to 200 square meters to at least 950 kelvin, providing a sustained heat source for the sublimation of up to ~300 kilograms of water ice during the 4 minutes of LCROSS post-impact observations. Diviner visible observations constrain the mass of the sunlit ejecta column to be ~10(-6) to 10(-5) kilograms per square meter, which is consistent with LCROSS estimates used to derive the relative abundance of the ice within the regolith.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Ice
  • Moon*
  • Spectrophotometry, Infrared
  • Volatilization

Substances

  • Ice