ExploringPitCraterstoUnderstandtheLunarMariaL.Kerber,L.Keszthelyi,D.H.Needham,J.W.Head,R.L.Klima,A.M.Stickle,K.DonaldsonHanna,J.W.Ashley,P.O.Hayne,M.Malaska,L.

Jozwiak,J.Whitten,P.Isaacson,L.Wilson,K.Mitchell,R.C.Anderson,B.Denevi,L.Cheek,J.Bleacher

CriticalAreas

CriticalAreas

Lunar Regolith Larry Taylor

Sand with MAHLI. NASA/JPL

BP-1 simulant, E. Suescun-Florez et al. 2014

Randy Korotev

CriticalAreas

TheRegolith/BedrockInterface:• Howregolithismade(fracturesinthebedrock?)

• Howthecompositionoftheregolithcomparestothelavasunderneathit

Keszthelyietal.

http://volcano.oregonstate.edu

Quinn Dombrowski

Themare:Thick,flood-like flows,orslower, complexinflatedflows?

Paleoregolith layers?

C.E. Jones-TheLunarSourcebook

Context!Texture,mineralogy,andelementalchemistry

TheLavaTube:• Pristinelavaonthefloorandwalls• Geometry• Precursorforhumanexploration

• Protectedfromradiationandmicrometeorites

• Balmytemperatureof-30Cyear-round

CriticalAreas

Whichisbest?

• Thicknessofsection

• Verticalityofregolithcone

• Context• Possibilityofa

largetube

17

11

MareTranquillitatis Pit

Kepler

Aristarchus

ReinerGamma

MariusHillsPit

Access:TheAxelRover• Poweredby

solarpanelsonthesurface

• Communicationlinkthroughitstether

OperationofLunakhod

Divingintothehistoryofthemare

Payload:• Contextcameras• Microimager• APXS• SWIRspectrometer