The Earth is cradled in an atmosphere that burns up small impactors before they reach the
surface, and a magnetosphere that largely shields the surface from solar and cosmic particle …

The modern surface of the Moon is primarily influenced by impact processes. While
volcanism was active until perhaps 3.0 Ga and tectonic activity may still persist, it is the …

We find that the reflectance of the lunar surface within 5° of latitude of the South Pole
increases rapidly with decreasing temperature, near∼ 110 K, behavior consistent with the …

Abstract The visible (400–700 nm) and near-infrared (700–2800 nm) reflectance of the lunar
regolith is dominantly controlled by variations in the abundance of plagioclase, iron-bearing …

Abstract In June 2009 the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft was launched to
the Moon. The payload consists of 7 science instruments selected to characterize sites for …

The last decades have been marked by increasing evidence for the presence of near-
surface volatiles at the lunar poles. Enhancement in hydrogen near both poles, UV and …

Due to the challenging illumination conditions of the lunar polar regions, mineralogic maps
have generally been constrained to within 0–70 N/S. Here we generate a gridded …

Water ice and other volatiles that accumulated in the Moon's polar regions are among the
top priority targets for lunar exploration, due to their significances in both lunar geology and …

Analogous to similar maps prepared in support of the Apollo missions, we produced a
geomorphic map at a scale of 1: 8000 of Artemis III Areas of Interest 001 and 004 on the …

Upcoming missions to the lunar south pole require detailed maps over large areas to fully
characterize landing sites locally and regionally and to place their data into proper geologic …