The Moon Mineralogy Mapper Instrument and the Lunar Regolith

by

Noah Petro, Ph.D.
NASA/GSFC

Friday, February 29, 2008
Socialization : 10:15 a.m.
Presentation : 10:30 a.m.
Location: NSSTC, Room 2096
320 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, AL 35805

The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument on ISRO’s Chandraayan-1 lunar mission is a hyperspectral imager that will provide the highest spectral resolution images of the lunar surface to date. Data from the instrument will reveal spectral variations of the lunar surface that reflect the mineralogy of the upper few microns of the lunar regolith. There are two primary reasons why the mineralogy of the lunar regolith varies; changes in the composition of the underlying bedrock or the addition of material from large distances away in the form of crater ejecta. Estimates of the provenance of the foreign component in the regolith can be used to a) understand the composition of the regolith in areas contaminated by ejecta and to b) constrain elements associated with the cratering process.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Noah is a NASA Post-doc at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the Planetary Geodynamics Branch. He received his PhD from Brown University in 2007 having been a graduate student with Carlé Pieters. He continues to work with Carlé as the targeting coordinator for the Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument. His research has focused on modeling the provenance of material in the lunar regolith and studying the large South Pole-Aitken Basin.

Return To Colloquium Schedule