EEPS Colloquium: Bethany Ehlmann

Water on the Moon and Lunar Trailblazer, A Pioneering Small Satellite for Lunar Water and Lunar Exploration

With hydration/hydroxylation in rocks and soils and hints of polar water ice, excitement has grown about water on the Moon, both as a scientific repository of lunar history and a potential resource for human explorers. I will discuss the state of knowledge of water on the Moon and the upcoming Lunar Trailblazer mission, which will launch in January to answer outstanding questions about lunar water. Lunar Trailblazer is pioneering deep space mission approaches as one of the first in a new class of higher-risk, lower-cost NASA planetary science missions. From a 100-km altitude polar orbit, Lunar Trailblazer will simultaneously map composition, temperature, and thermophysical properties of the Moon’s surface over select areas. The objectives are to (1) determine the form of water (OH, H2O or ice), its abundance, and local distribution as a function of latitude, soil maturity, and lithology on the sunlit Moon; (2) assess possible time-variation in lunar water on sunlit surfaces; (3) use terrain-scattered light to determine the form, abundance, and distribution of exposed water in permanently shadowed regions; and (4) collect thermal data to understand how local gradients in albedo and surface temperature affect ice and OH/H2O concentration, including the potential identification of new cold traps. In doing so, Lunar Trailblazer collects key data for reconnaissance of potential future landing sites for human and robotic exploration and advances our understanding of the water cycle on airless bodies.

Host: David Fike

EEPS colloquia are made possible by the William C. Ferguson Fund