Analyzing Ice Content of Moon’s Crater

The team of NASA and university scientists using laser light from LRO’s laser altimeter examined the floor of Shackleton crater. They found the crater’s floor is brighter than those of other nearby craters, which is consistent with the presence of small amounts of ice. The information will help researchers understand crater formation and study other uncharted areas of the moon. The findings are published in Thursday’s edition of the journal Nature.

“The brightness measurements have been puzzling us since two summers ago” said Gregory Neumann of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. “While the distribution of brightness was not exactly what we had expected, practically every measurement related to ice and other volatile compounds on the moon are surprising, given the cosmically cold temperatures inside its polar crater”.

The spacecraft mapped Shackleton crater with unprecedented detail using a laser to illuminate the crater’s interior and measure its albedo or natural reflectance. The laser light measures to a depth comparable to its wavelength, or about a micron. The team also used the instrument to map the relief of the crater’s terrain based on the time it took for laser light to bounce back from the moon’s surface. The longer it took, the lower the terrain’s elevation.

In addition to the possible evidence of ice, the group’s map of Shackleton revealed a remarkably preserved crater that has remained relatively unscathed since its formation more than three billion years ago. The crater’s floor is itself pocked with several small craters, which may have formed as part of the collision that created Shackleton.

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