Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft United States Space Agency (NASA), has sent the data that shows 22 percent of the material surface craters on the Moon's south pole may be composed of ice.
Team of NASA and university scientists use light from the laser altimeter LRO to examine the bottom of the crater Shackleton and find the bottom of the crater bottom of the crater are brighter than others, that indicate the presence of a little ice.
The information published in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday it will help researchers understand the formation of the crater and the study of other parts of the Moon.
"Measuring the information light has made us confused since two summers ago," said Gregory Neumann of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, members of the authors of the study, NASA's official website.
Team of NASA and university scientists use light from the laser altimeter LRO to examine the bottom of the crater Shackleton and find the bottom of the crater bottom of the crater are brighter than others, that indicate the presence of a little ice.
The information published in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday it will help researchers understand the formation of the crater and the study of other parts of the Moon.
"Measuring the information light has made us confused since two summers ago," said Gregory Neumann of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, members of the authors of the study, NASA's official website.
"Although the distribution of light is not exactly what we expected, the fact that every measurement is related to ice and other volatile compounds in the Moon was surprising, given the cosmic cold temperatures in the polar craters," said Neumann.
The spacecraft mapped the crater Shackleton with details not previously exist using lasers to illuminate the inside of the crater and measuring the albedo or the ability to reflect light.
The team also used the instrument to map the terrain relief of the crater by the time it takes laser light bounces back to the moon's surface. The longer the time required, the lower the altitude of the terrain.
In addition to evidence of the existence of additional ice, the map also shows how the group Shackleton crater remains in precarious situations without disabilities since its inception more than three billion years ago. On the floor of the crater there is a small craters, which may have formed as part of the collision that created the Shackleton.
The crater is named after the Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton, the depth of two miles and a width of more than 12 miles. As some of the craters on the moon's south pole, the slope of the minor axis of the Moon shows that the inside of the crater Shackleton permanent dark so it is very cold.
"The inside of the crater is very rough. It will not be easy to crawl in it," said Maria Zuber, head of a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge in Mass.
The spacecraft mapped the crater Shackleton with details not previously exist using lasers to illuminate the inside of the crater and measuring the albedo or the ability to reflect light.
The team also used the instrument to map the terrain relief of the crater by the time it takes laser light bounces back to the moon's surface. The longer the time required, the lower the altitude of the terrain.
In addition to evidence of the existence of additional ice, the map also shows how the group Shackleton crater remains in precarious situations without disabilities since its inception more than three billion years ago. On the floor of the crater there is a small craters, which may have formed as part of the collision that created the Shackleton.
The crater is named after the Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton, the depth of two miles and a width of more than 12 miles. As some of the craters on the moon's south pole, the slope of the minor axis of the Moon shows that the inside of the crater Shackleton permanent dark so it is very cold.
"The inside of the crater is very rough. It will not be easy to crawl in it," said Maria Zuber, head of a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge in Mass.
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