Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 326, Issue 5952, Pages 565-568Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1179788
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NASA Discovery Program [NNM07AA99C, NNG06GJ31G]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The Moon is generally anhydrous, yet the Deep Impact spacecraft found the entire surface to be hydrated during some portions of the day. Hydroxyl (OH) and water (H2O) absorptions in the near infrared were strongest near the North Pole and are consistent with <0.5 weight percent H2O. Hydration varied with temperature, rather than cumulative solar radiation, but no inherent absorptivity differences with composition were observed. However, comparisons between data collected 1 week (a quarter lunar day) apart show a dynamic process with diurnal changes in hydration that were greater for mare basalts (similar to 70%) than for highlands (similar to 50%). This hydration loss and return to a steady state occurred entirely between local morning and evening, requiring a ready daytime source of water-group ions, which is consistent with a solar wind origin.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available