Shallow Regolith Structure and Obstructions Detected by Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar at Chang'E-5 Drilling Site

This work analyzes the observations from the Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar (LRPR) onboard Chang'E-5 to reconstruct the subsurface structure of the regolith under the lander at the drilling site. This is the first stationary Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) array to operate on the Moon. Imaging results of pre-drilling and post-drilling measurements show that the thickness of local regolith is larger than 2 m. Within the LRPR's detection range, we do not find any continuous layer. Instead, irregular, high-density zones are identified in the regolith. Two of these zones are on the drilling trajectory at similar to 30 cm and similar to 70 cm, consistent with the recorded drilling process. We speculate a rock fragment from the deeper, high-density zone obstructed the drill, which led to an early termination of the drilling. Based on our interpretation of subsurface structure, we modeled the LRPR echoes using a finite-difference time-domain method. The same imaging algorithm was also applied to the simulation data. The modeled data verify our inference of the regolith structure under the lander.

Automated summary

This study uses Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar (LRPR) observations to reconstruct the subsurface structure of the regolith under the Chang'E-5 lander. It identifies irregular, high-density zones in the regolith, speculates that rock fragments from these zones obstructed the drilling process, leading to an early termination. The study models the LRPR echoes using a finite-difference time-domain method to verify their inference of the regolith structure.