Bandfield Joshua L, Poston Michael J, Klima Rachel L, Edwards Christopher S
Space Science Institute.
California Institute of Technology.
Nat Geosci. 2018;11:173-177. doi: 10.1038/s41561-018-0065-0. Epub 2018 Feb 12.
Remote sensing data from lunar orbiters have revealed spectral features consistent with the presence of OH or HO on the lunar surface. Analyses of data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper spectrometer onboard the Chandryaan-1 spacecraft have suggested that OH/HO is recycled on diurnal timescales and persists only at high latitudes. However, the spatial distribution and temporal variability of the OH/HO, as well as its source, remain uncertain. Here we incorporate a physics-based thermal correction into analysis of reflectance spectra from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper and find that prominent absorption features consistent with OH/HO can be present at all latitudes, local times, and surface types examined. This suggests the widespread presence of OH/HO on the lunar surface without significant diurnal migration. We suggest that the spectra are consistent with the production of OH in space weathered materials by the solar wind implantation of H and formation of OH at crystal defect sites, as opposed to HO sourced from the lunar interior. Regardless of the specific composition or formation mechanism, we conclude that OH/HO can be present on the Moon under thermal conditions more wide-ranging than previously recognized.
来自月球轨道器的遥感数据显示出与月球表面存在OH或HO相一致的光谱特征。对月船1号航天器上的月球矿物绘图仪光谱仪数据的分析表明，OH/HO在昼夜时间尺度上循环，并且仅在高纬度地区持续存在。然而，OH/HO的空间分布和时间变化及其来源仍然不确定。在这里，我们将基于物理的热校正纳入对月球矿物绘图仪反射光谱的分析中，发现与OH/HO一致的显著吸收特征可能存在于所有纬度、当地时间和所研究的表面类型中。这表明月球表面广泛存在OH/HO，且没有明显的昼夜迁移。我们认为，这些光谱与太阳风注入H在空间风化物质中产生OH以及在晶体缺陷部位形成OH一致，而不是与源自月球内部的HO一致。无论具体成分或形成机制如何，我们得出结论，在比之前认识到的更广泛的热条件下，月球上都可能存在OH/HO。
