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2.2.4 Lunar Soil Movement Registered by the Apollo 17 Cosmic Dust Experiment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Otto E. Berg ,
Henry Wolf  and
John Rhee
Otto E. Berg
Affiliation:
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
Henry Wolf
Affiliation:
Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc., Seabrook, Maryland 20801
John Rhee
Affiliation:
Rose-Hulman Institute, Terre Haute, Indiana 47803

Extract

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In December, 1973, a Lunar Ejecta and Meteorites (LEAM) experiment was placed in the Taurus-Littrow area of the moon by the Apollo 17 Astronauts. Objectives of the experiment were centered around measurements of impact parameters of cosmic dust on the lunar surface. During preliminary attempts to analyze the data it became evident that the events registered by the sensors could not be attributed to cosmic dust but could only be identified with the lunar surface and the local sun angle. The nature of these data coupled with post-flight studies of instrument characteristics, have led to a conclusion that the LEAM experiment is responding primarily to a flux of highly charged, slowly moving lunar surface fines. Undoubtedly concealed in these data is the normal impact activity from cosmic dust and probably lunar ejecta, as well. This paper is based on the recognition that the bulk of events registered by the LEAM experiment are not signatures of hypervelocity cosmic dust particles, as expected, but are induced signatures of electrostatically charged and transported lunar fines.

Type
2 In Situ Measurements of Interplanetary Dust
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 31: Interplanetary Dust and Zodiacal Light , 1976 , pp. 233 - 237
Copyright
Copyright © Springer-Verlag 1976

References

(1) Berg, O. E., Richardson, F.F., and Burton, H., “Lunar Ejecta and Meteorites Experiment”, APOLLO 17 Preliminary Science Report, NASA SP-330, pp. 16–1 to 16–9; 1973.Google Scholar
(2) Gold, T., The Lunar Surface; Mon. Not. Royal Astron. Soc., 115, #6, 585, 1955.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(3) McCoy, J.E., Criswell, D.R., Evidence for High Altitude Distribution of Lunar Dust; Proc. 5th Lunar Sci. Conf.; Vol. 3; 2991–3005; 1974.Google Scholar