A Recent Journey |LROC

A large boulder stopped on its way down a sloping wall in the central peak complex of Schiller crater (51.8°S, 40.0°W). Illumination from the north, image is ~500 m across, NAC M109502471L

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Continue reading "A Recent Journey"

Craggy Peak, Impact Melts |LROC

Northern slope of one of four central peaks in Hayn crater, on the northern edge of Humboldtianum basin. Downslope direction is from top to bottom (North is down), image field of view is 594 meters, sunlight is from upper left. LROC NAC observation M128754462L, orbit 4108, resolution 0.54 meters from 51.78 kilometers. View the full size LROC Featured Image HERE  [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Hiroyuki Sato

LROC News System

Due to the tremendous energy released by an impact event large portions of the target rock is melted. This impact melt forms distinctive flows and ponds both inside and outside of its parent crater. In many young craters the #LROC-NAC has captured deposits that look as if they formed yesterday.

Today's Featured Image is on the northern slope of the Hayn crater central peak. Due to the peak's steepness, it is rough and craggy. In many places on the peak wavy deposits are seen between crags and blocks; these deposits are most likely impact melt. Truly amazing, first the central peak formed then impact melt splashed down and coated it. If this interpretation is correct you can say that the peak formed in matter of a few seconds, quickly enough that melt that was thrown during the impact had not yet landed! Quantitative measurements of these kind of spectacular outcrops, using new accurate topography from LROC NAC stereo will help reveal how impact craters form.

#LROC QuickMap WAC monochrome 125 meter per pixel projection of Hayn and vicinty, centered at 64.34°N, 83.94°E. The yellow arrow indicates the locations of LROC Featured Image field of view [#NASA/#GSFC/#Arizona-State-University].

Hayn is an exceptionally deep crater because it is situated just within the northern mountainous ring of 550 km-wide Humboldtianum basin, which extends far beyond its deep interior Mare Humboldtianum. The entire basin straddles the 90° east meridian, though Mare Humboldtianum is a nearside basin visible at favorable lunar librations. The floor of Hayn is 4.9 kilometers below global mean elevation and it's northern crater rim is still more than a half kilometer below global mean. The mountain directly north of Hayn, a worn remnant of the Humboldtianum basin rim is 2.3 kilometers above global mean, nearly a seven thousand meter change in elevation over the eighty kilometers between that massif and the center of Hayn. LROC Wide Angle Camera (WAC) 100 meter per pixel digital terrain model, color shaded relief, orthographic projection centered on 60° east [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Explore the craggy peak and impact melt deposits, both on the peak and the floor of Hayn crater, HERE.

Related Posts:

On the floor of Green M

Splash and flow

Ejecta in Tycho crater

Natural Bridge on the Moon!

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Lichtenberg B Flow |LRCO

Starting at the rim of the crater Lichtenberg B, impact melt flowed and formed a channel, pushing boulders aside in the process. LROC NAC M120257109R, image width is 430 m, incidence angle is 57°

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Quell: NASA/GSFC - LROC

Detour! |Moon

A high albedo granular flow traveled down the wall of Dionysius crater. Why is the flow curving around the crater floor?

LROC NAC M111484008R, image width is 500 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

quelle: LROC News System

Shades of Grey |Moon

Two streaks of high and low reflectance blocky ejecta from the same crater. A large boulder rests in the low reflectance deposit. LROC NAC M168862555R, image width is 500 m

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Quelle:

Continue reading "Shades of Grey"

LROC Moon |Nature's Art

Western half of an unusual unnamed crater and its ejecta near the center of Mare Serenitatis. LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) observation M139795376L, LRO orbit 5735, September 22, 2010; field of view 600 meters, incidence angle 28° from an altitude of 43.91 kilometers.  View the full size LROC Featured Image HERE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona  State University].

Hiroyuki Sato

LROC News System

In many cases crater ejecta patterns on the Moon 
result in natural art.



Unlike the ejecta on the Earth and Mars, ejecta on th
Moon does not interact with an atmosphere.


Thus the final pattern on the ground is solely a reflection the 
dynamics of impact cratering. Today's Featured Image highlights 
the western half of an unnamed crater located in the middle of
Mare Serenitatis. The crater diameter is about
470 meters.

Context view of today's Featured Image, showing a wider view of the unnamed crater ejecta. Field of view close to the full  2.2 kilometer width of LROC NAC frame M139795376L. See the larger context image accompanying the image  release HERE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

As seen in the second picture (a zoom-out of the same NAC frame), one third of the ejecta blanket (the western portion) is missing, probably due to an oblique impact from west to east. In the top image (near the crater center), almost all of the boulders are ejected in the northwest and southwest direction. The fine particles, however, extend out to the west in patterns not unlike a delicate lace. Studying the full variety of craters with distinctive ejecta patterns is key to understanding the dynamics of oblique impact events.

LROC Wide Angle Camera (WAC) 100 meter per-pixel monochrome mosaic of the center of the Mare Serenitatis basin. The yellow arrow and blue square show the location of the LROC Featured Image and the full NAC observation's footprint. See the larger WAC context image HERE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Explore this beautiful ejecta blanket in the full NAC frame!

Another very familiar crater famous for its asymmetric ejecta and as a nearside landmark of the Moon in an evening sky is bright Proclus - with lighthouse rays guarding "the gates" separating distinctive Palus Somni from Mare Crisium. View  of the crater from Earth on March 29, 2010 from a  spectacular full lunar disk mosaic by Astronominsk compared with LRO Nominal Mission LROC WAC image [Aстроноmинск (Луна) - NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Related posts:

Ray of boulders

Slice of Mare

How did I form?

Asymmetric Ejecta

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Nature's Art |Moon

Western half of an unnamed crater and its ejecta located near the center of Mare Serenitatis. 

Image width is 600 m, incidence angle 28°,

LROC NAC M139795376L

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Quelle: Continue reading "Nature's Art"

News |Lunar Networks

"Slide show" comparing an illumination model of the lunar north pole region, made using a three-dimensional printer and LRO laser altimetry by Howard Fink of New York University, with standard representations of LOLA data and one LROC WAC mosaic [Howard Fink/NYU/NASA/GSFC/ASU].

Paul D. Spudis

The Once & Future Moon

Smithsonian Air & Space

Of all the wonders depicted in science fiction books and movies, one of the most intriguing is the machine that makes anything
that you need or desire.  Merely enter a detailed plan, or push the
button for items programmed into the machine – dials twirl, the machine
hums and out pops what you requested.  Technology gives us Aladdin’s
Lamp.  A handy device that will find many uses.

We’re not quite there yet but crude versions of such imagined
machines already exist.  These machines are called “rapid prototype”
generators or three-dimensional printers.
They take digitized information about the dimensions and shape of an
object and use that data to control a fabricator that re-creates the
object using a variety of different materials.  Typically, these
machines use easy to mold plastics and epoxy resins but in principle,
any material could be used to create virtually any object.

3-D printers contribute to the advancement our understanding of lunar morphology, as LRO fills long-neglected gaps in lunar morphology. Malapert Massif (85.9°S, 0.42°E). From an 80 meter resolution image of the South Pole region of the Moon built from a 20 meter original supplied by the LRO/LOLA science team [Howard Fink/NYU].

For comparison nearly the same area modeled by laser altimetry (LOLA) above, Malapert from the LROC Wide Angle Camera (WAC) RDR 100 meter Global Mosaic [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

What’s the relevance of this technology to spaceflight and to the Moon?  One of the key objects of lunar return is to learn how to use the material and energy resources of the Moon
to create new capabilities.  To date, we have focused our attention on
simple raw materials like bulk regolith (soil) and the water found at
the poles.  It makes sense to initially limit our resource utilization
ambitions to simple materials that are both useful and relatively
massive, which currently have those killer transportation costs when
delivered from Earth.  Bulk regolith has many different uses, such as shielding (e.g., rocket exhaust blast berms) as well as raw material for simple surface structures.

However, once we are on the Moon and have met the basic necessities
of life, we can begin to experiment with making and using more complex
products.  In effect, the inhabitants of the Moon will begin to create
more complicated parts and items from what they find around them, just
outside their door.  The techniques of three-dimensional printing will
allow us to discover what makes life off-planet easier and more
productive.  We will experiment by using the local materials to maintain
and repair equipment, build new structures, and finally begin
off-planet manufacturing.

To illustrate the obliquity of the view angle and the problem posed in gathering information about the tantalizing but permanently shadowed regions of the Moon, Shackleton crater, with the Moon's South Pole on its rim (upper left) together with Malapert Massif on the horizon, seen with Earth as a back drop. HDTV still from Japan's Kaguya orbiter released November 2007 [JAXA/NHK/SELENE].

During the early stages of lunar habitation, material and equipment
will be brought from Earth.  With continued use, particularly in the
harsh lunar surface environment, breakdowns will occur.  Although
initially we will use spare parts from Earth, for simple uncomplicated
structures that are needed quickly, a three-dimensional printer can make
substitute parts using local resource materials found near the
outpost.  Most existing 3-D printers on Earth use plastics and related materials
(which are complex carbon-based compounds, mostly derived from
petroleum) but some processing has used concrete, which can be made on
the Moon from sieved regolith and water.  In addition, we also know that
regolith can be fused into ceramic using microwaves,
so rapid prototyping activities on the Moon may eventually find that
partially melting particulate matter into glass is another way to create
useful objects.

The lunar surface is a good source of material and energy useful in creating a wide variety of objects.  I mentioned simple ceramics and aggregates, but additionally, a variety of metals (including iron, aluminum and titanium) are available on the Moon.  Silicon for making electronic components and solar cells is abundant on the Moon.  Designs for robotic rovers
that literally fuse the in-place upper surface of the lunar regolith
into electricity-producing solar cells have already been imagined and
prototyped.  We can outsource solar energy jobs to the Moon!

These technical developments lead to mind-boggling possibilities.  Back in the 1940s, the mathematician John von Neumann imagined what he called “self-replicating automata,”
small machines that could process information to reproduce themselves
at exponential rates.  Interestingly, von Neumann himself thought of the
idea of using such automata in space, where both energy and materials
are (quite literally) unlimited.  A machine that contains the
information and the ability to reproduce itself may ultimately be the
tool humanity needs to “conquer” space.  Hordes of reproducing robots
could prepare a planet for colonization as well as providing safe havens
and habitats.

We can experiment on the Moon with self-replicating machines because
it contains the necessary material and energy resources.  Of course, in
the near-term, we will simply use this new technology to create spare
parts and perhaps simple objects that we find serve our immediate and
utilitarian needs.  But things like this have a habit of evolving far
beyond their initial envisioned use, and often in directions that we do
not expect; we are not smart enough to imagine what we don’t know.  The
technology of three-dimensional printing will make the habitation of the
Moon – our nearest neighbor in space – easier and more productive. 
Even now, creative former NASA workers have found a way to make this technology pay off.  In the future, perhaps their talents could be applied to making the Moon a second home to humanity.

Originally published October 24, 2011 at his Smithsonian Air & Space blog The Once and Future Moon,
Dr. Spudis is a Senior Staff Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. The opinions expressed are those of the author and
are better informed than average.

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Ray of boulders |LROC

Dozens of boulders, ranging from 10 m to more than 30 m in diameter, are distributed within an ejecta ray close to the crater rim (lower right). These boulders represent the deepest material excavated during crater formation.

LROC NAC M159013302LR, image width is ~850m 
[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Continue reading "Ray of boulders"

Relative age relationships |Moon

A wrinkle ridge cross-cuts and deforms an impact crater in northeast Mare Imbrium. Deformed impact crater is ~330 m in diameter, LROC NAC M104540211RE, image width is 1.7 km

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

via Continue reading 'Relative age relationships'

Impact melt in Anaxagoras crater |LROC

Boulders clustered on a positive relief bulge in an impact melt deposit on the floor of Anaxagoras crater (73.5°S, 349.7°E); most of the boulders are 10 - 30 m across. LROC NAC M155309869R, image width is 910 m.

via [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University]

Continue reading 'Impact melt in Anaxagoras crater'"

Fault scarp with impact melt in King crater |LROC

A fault scarp separates two zones of impact melt within the King crater wall (5.0°N, 120.5°E). NAC image number M115529715RE; incidence angle 75°; Sun is from the right, image is ~900 meters across; north is up 

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University]

Continue reading 'Fault scarp with impact melt in King crater

Wrinkled Planet |LROC

Intricate fault patterns enhanced by dawn lighting in Seares crater (Sun is shining from lower right). North is up, image width is 2800 meters,

M130681684LR [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

quell: nasaLRO

How did I form |Moon

Small fresh crater in Palitzsch B, with a shape and ejecta pattern typical of an oblique impact. North is up, image width is 500 m,

LROC NAC M154785423R

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Post-impact modification |Klute W

Fractured and slumping rim of Klute W crater. Image is 900 meters wide, LROC NAC M143201144RE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Continue reading 'Post-impact modification of Klute W'

Moon |LROC

Striated blocks in Aristarchus crater!

Field of striated boulders on the wall of Aristarchus crater. Uphill is towards top of image.

LROC NAC image M120161915 [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Quelle:Continue reading 'Striated blocks in Aristarchus crater

Rimae Posidonius |Moon

Spanning over 130 km in length, Rimae Posidonius is a sinuous rille winding across the floor of Posidonius crater. LROC WAC mosaic at 100 m/pixel, arrow points to the rille and location of an LROC NAC close-up..

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University]

Continue reading 'Rimae Posidonius'

Bowditch Lava Terraces |LROC

NAC view of a part of the lava terrace within the Bowditch feature. The wall of Bowditch is on the right and the terrace is located between the two dashed white lines. LROC NAC image M101478053R, image width is 2400 m, incidence angle is 86°
[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Continue reading "Bowditch Lava Terraces"

Sinus Iridum |Moon

LROC WAC topography of Sinus Iridum, blue shows the lowest areas and red the highest. From promontory to promontory Sinus Iridum is 235 km across

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Continue reading 'Sinus Iridum - Next Destination?

Rainbows on the Moon |LRO

With the Sun exactly overhead, the illumination conditions and viewing angles of the LROC WAC create a rainbow effect in this image. 689 nm filter in red, 643 nm filter in green, and 604 nm filter in blue, from image M109168446C. Scene from north to south covers ~120 km
[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

quelle: Continue reading 'Rainbows on the Moon