Hydrogen has been inferred to occur in enhanced concentrations within permanently shadowed regions and, hence, the coldest areas of the lunar poles. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite ...(LCROSS) mission was designed to detect hydrogen-bearing volatiles directly. Neutron flux measurements of the Moon's south polar region from the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft were used to select the optimal impact site for LCROSS. LEND data show several regions where the epithermal neutron flux from the surface is suppressed, which is indicative of enhanced hydrogen content. These regions are not spatially coincident with permanently shadowed regions of the Moon. The LCROSS impact site inside the Cabeus crater demonstrates the highest hydrogen concentration in the lunar south polar region, corresponding to an estimated content of 0.5 to 4.0% water ice by weight, depending on the thickness of any overlying dry regolith layer. The distribution of hydrogen across the region is consistent with buried water ice from cometary impacts, hydrogen implantation from the solar wind, and/or other as yet unknown sources.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
•LEND/LRO instrument neutron counting data sets have been analyzed to create high resolution maps of epithermal neutron flux at polar regions of the Moon.•The conversion from epithermal neutron flux ...to the H/H2O abundances is presented based on the simple subsurface models.•The polar lunar maps (poleward 70S/70N) of homogeneous hydrogen distribution are derived and discussed.
We present a method of conversion of the lunar neutron counting rate measured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) instrument collimated neutron detectors, to water equivalent hydrogen (WEH) in the top ∼1m layer of lunar regolith. Polar maps of the Moon's inferred hydrogen abundance are presented and discussed.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
The presence of hydrated phases in the soil and near‐surface bedrock of Gale Crater is thought to be direct evidence for water‐rock interaction in the crater in the ancient past. Layered sediments ...over the Gale Crater floor are thought to have formed in past epochs due to sediment transport, accumulation, and cementation through interaction with fluids, and the observed strata of water‐bearing minerals record the history of these episodes. The first data analysis of the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) investigation on board the Curiosity rover is presented for 154 individual points of active mode measurements along 1900 m of the traverse over the first 361 Martian solar days in Gale crater. It is found that a model of constant water content within subsurface should be rejected for practically all tested points, whereas a two‐layer model with different water contents in each layer is supported by the data. A so‐called direct two‐layer model (water content increasing with depth) yields acceptable fits for odometry ranges between 0 and 455 m and beyond 638 m. The mean water (H2O) abundances of the top and bottom layers vary from 1.5 to 1.7 wt % and from 2.2 to 3.3 wt %, respectively, while at some tested spots the water content is estimated to be as high as ~5 wt %. The data for odometry range 455–638 m support an inverse two‐layer model (water content decreasing with depth), with an estimated mean water abundance of 2.1 ± 0.1 wt % and 1.4 ± 0.04 wt % in the top and bottom layers, respectively.
Key Points
First analysis of active neutron data from DAN instrument on board MSL roverEstimations of water distribution along MSL rover traverse by DAN instrumentEstimations of chlorine abundance along MSL rover traverse by DAN instrument
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Data gathered with the Dynamic Albedo of Neutron (DAN) instrument onboard rover Curiosity were analyzed for variations in subsurface neutron flux and tested for possible correlation with local ...geological context. A special DAN observation campaign was executed, in which 18 adjacent DAN active measurements were acquired every 0.75–1.0 m to search for the variations of subsurface hydrogen content along a 15 m traverse across geologic contacts between the Sheepbed and Gillespie Lake members of the Yellowknife Bay formation. It was found that several subunits in Sheepbed and Gillespie Lake could be characterized with different depth distributions of water‐equivalent hydrogen (WEH) and different chlorine‐equivalent abundance responsible for the distribution of neutron absorption elements. The variations of the average WEH at the top 60 cm of the subsurface are estimated at up to 2–3%. Chlorine‐equivalent neutron absorption abundances ranged within 0.8–1.5%. The largest difference in WEH and chlorine‐equivalent neutron absorption distribution is found between Sheepbed and Gillespie Lake.
Key Points
DAN special campaign in Yellowknife Bay
DAN local measurements of water and chlorine abundance
Correlation of DAN measurements and geological context
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
We examine a sample of 2301 gamma-ray bursts, detected by Konus-Wind in the triggered mode between 1994 and 2017 and localized by the interplanetary network (IPN), for evidence of gravitational ...lensing. We utilize all the available gamma-ray burst (GRB) data: time histories, localizations, and energy spectra. We employ common IPN techniques to find and quantify similarities in the light curves of 2,646,150 burst pairs, and for the pairs with significant similarities, we examine their IPN localizations to determine whether they are consistent with a common origin. For pairs that are consistent, we derive and compare energy spectra, and compute a figure of merit that allows us to compare and rank burst pairs. We conduct both a blind search, between all possible burst pairs, and a targeted search, between pairs in which one burst has both a spectroscopic redshift and an identification of an intervening system, as measured by one or more lower spectroscopic redshifts. We identify six pairs in the blind search that could be taken as evidence for lensing, but none are compelling enough to claim a detection with good confidence. No candidates were detected in the targeted search. For our GRB sample, we set an upper limit to the optical depth to lensing of 0.0033, which is comparable to that of optical sources. We conclude that proposed scenarios in which a large fraction of the GRB population is lensed are extremely unlikely.
The description of Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) experiment is presented, as a part of the NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission onboard the mars rover Curiosity. The instrument DAN includes ...Pulsing Neutron Generator (PNG) producing pulses of 14.1 MeV neutrons for irradiation of subsurface material below the rover, and Detectors and Electronics (DE) unit, which operates the instrument itself and measures the die-away time profiles of epithermal and thermal neutrons following each neutron pulse. It is shown that the DAN investigation will measure a content of hydrogen along the path of the MSL rover, and it will also provide information about a depth distribution of hydrogen at 10–20 regions selected for the detailed studies and sampling analysis.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Possible correlation is studied between Water Equivalent Hydrogen (WEH) in the Martian subsurface, as measured by the DAN (Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons) instrument along the Curiosity traverse, and the ...presence of hydrated minerals on the surface, as seen from the orbit by CRISM (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars) instrument onboard MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Cross-analysis of the subsurface WEH values from DAN passive measurements with the distribution of hydrated minerals over the surface of Gale crater according to Specialized Browse Product Mosaics is performed for the initial 20 km part of traverse. As a result, we found an increase up to 0.4 wt% of the mean WEH value for the surface areas with the spectral signatures of polyhydrated sulfates. The increase is shown to be higher with the more prominent spectral signature on the surface. Similar WEH increase for the two other types of hydrated minerals, such as monohydrated sulfates and phyllosilicates, was not found for the tested part of the traverse. Polyhydrated sulfates being a part of the sedimentary deposits composing the surface of Gale crater should have considerable thickness that is necessary for the subsurface neutron sensing by DAN measurements.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The far-side solar eruptive event SOL2014-09-01 produced hard electromagnetic and radio emissions that were observed with detectors at near-Earth vantage points. Especially challenging was a ...long-duration > 100 MeV
γ
-ray burst that was probably produced by accelerated protons exceeding 300 MeV. This observation raised the question how high-energy protons could reach the Earth-facing solar surface. Some preceding studies discussed a scenario in which protons accelerated by a shock driven by a coronal mass ejection high in the corona return to the solar surface. We continue with the analysis of this challenging event, involving radio images from the
Nançay Radioheliograph
and hard X-ray data from the
High Energy Neutron Detector
(HEND) of the
Gamma-Ray Spectrometer
onboard the
Mars Odyssey
space observatory located near Mars. HEND recorded unocculted flare emission. The results indicate that the emissions observed from the Earth’s direction were generated by flare-accelerated electrons and protons trapped in static long coronal loops. They can be reaccelerated in these loops by a shock wave that was excited by the eruption, being initially not driven by a coronal mass ejection. The results highlight ways to address the remaining questions.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument on board Mars Science Laboratory has been operating successfully since the landing and has been making measurements regularly along Curiosity's ...traverse at the surface. DAN measures thermal (E < 0.4 eV) and epithermal neutrons (0.4 eV < E < ~1 keV) while operating in two different modes: active and passive. The active mode uses a pulsed neutron generator (PNG) to study the geological characteristics of the subsurface. In the passive mode, DAN measures the background neutron environment. This paper presents results of measurements in the passive mode from landing through to sol 100 and provides an interpretation of the data based on extensive Monte Carlo simulations. The main observations are summarized as follows: (1) the thermal neutron counts vary strongly along the rover traverse while the epithermal counts do not show much variation; (2) the neutrons from the Multi‐Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) are a larger contributor to the DAN passive data than the Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR)‐induced neutrons; (3) for the MMRTG neutrons, both the thermal and the epithermal counts increase as a function of the subsurface water content; (4) on the other hand, for the GCR‐induced neutrons, the thermal counts increase but the epithermal counts decrease as a function of the subsurface water content; and (5) relative contributions by the MMRTG and GCR to the DAN thermal neutron counts at the Rocknest site, where the rover was stationed from sol 59 to sol 100, are estimated to be ~60% and ~40%, respectively.
Key Points
The DAN passive mode measures the MMRTG neutrons and GCR‐induced neutrons
The thermal neutron counts show strong variability along the rover traverse
The majority of the DAN passive counts are from the MMRTG neutrons
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
•LEND on LRO detects diurnally varying suppression of epithermal neutron flux near the Moon’s equator.•Neutron suppression is consistent with presence of H-bearing volatiles.•Peak inferred hydrogen ...concentration is near dawn terminator, minimum at dusk.•Most likely source of volatiles is outgassing of a primordial inventory from the Moon.•Natural distillation by sunlight may provide energy-efficient access to water and other volatiles.
The Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND), on the polar-orbiting Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft, has detected suppression in the Moon’s naturally-occurring epithermal neutron leakage flux that is consistent with the presence of diurnally varying quantities of hydrogen in the regolith near the equator. Peak hydrogen concentration (neutron flux suppression) is on the dayside of the dawn terminator and diminishes through the dawn-to-noon sector. The minimum concentration of hydrogen is in the late afternoon and dusk sector. The chemical form of hydrogen is not determinable from these measurements, but other remote sensing methods and anticipated elemental availability suggest water molecules or hydroxyl ions. Signal-to-noise ratio at maximum contrast is 5.6σ in each of two detector systems. Volatiles are deduced to collect in or on the cold nightside surface and distill out of the regolith after dawn as rotation exposes the surface to sunlight. Liberated volatiles migrate away from the warm subsolar region toward the nearby cold nightside surface beyond the terminator, resulting in maximum concentration at the dawn terminator. The peak concentration within the upper ∼1m of regolith is estimated to be 0.0125±0.0022 weight-percent water-equivalent hydrogen (wt% WEH) at dawn, yielding an accumulation of 190±30ml recoverable water per square meter of regolith at each dawn. Volatile transport over the lunar surface in opposition to the Moon’s rotation exposes molecules to solar ultraviolet radiation. The short lifetime against photolysis and permanent loss of hydrogen from the Moon requires a resupply rate that greatly exceeds anticipated delivery of hydrogen by solar wind implantation or by meteoroid impacts, suggesting that the surface inventory must be continually resupplied by release from a deep volatile inventory in the Moon. The natural distillation of water from the regolith by sunlight and its capture on the cold night surface may provide energy-efficient access to volatiles for in situ resource utilization (ISRU) by direct capture before volatiles can enter the surface, eliminating the need to actively mine regolith for volatile resource recovery.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
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