Grier Jennifer A. - Airless bodies of the inner solar system: understanding the process affecting rocky, airless surfaces

First Edition

Jennifer A. Grier

Senior Scientist and Education and Communications Specialist, Planetary Science Institute, Columbia, MD, United States

Andrew S. Rivkin

Principal Professional Staff, Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, United States

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We would like to acknowledge the contributions of friends and colleagues who helped us see this book from conception to reality. They generously contributed their time to help make this a better book. In particular we would like to mention Drs. Nancy Chabot, Brett Denevi, Josh Emery, and Rachel Klima, who agreed to interviews about their areas of expertise; Drs. Dave Blewett, Tom Burbine, Carolyn Ernst, Christine Hartzell, Angela Stickle, and Kevin Walsh, who provided comments on chapters; and Dr. Jamie Molaro who supported us both via an interview and via edits.

We recognize that the contents of a textbook are by its nature designed to showcase and build upon the work of myriad researchers in our community. We acknowledge the decades of effort that we have drawn upon to produce this work. While we do not call out individuals in this section, the References and Additional reading sections at the end of each chapter give a flavor of the breadth and diversity of thought on these topics.

We are grateful for the opportunity to write this book, which has expanded our own appreciation of the subject matter and changing paradigms around the surface processes of rocky, airless bodies.

Abstract

Our views of the solar system are ever changing. As observations are made, and data are collected, new ideas come to light. Old paradigms shift and change into the visions of the future. This ongoing process requires planetary scientists to continually re-evaluate their perceptions of the solar system in order to move the field forward. Exploration and investigation of a wide variety of bodies has caused a similar shift in the way we view rocky, airless surfaces. The scientific returns from missions such as Dawn (Vesta/Ceres), LRO (Moon), Hayabusa (Itokawa), and MESSENGER (Mercury) along with other data sets have created a new conception of the common processes that affect their surfaces. Such new conceptions are helping us understand the places we have not sent dedicated missions, such as Phobos and Deimos and untold small asteroids. Airless Bodies in the inner solar system have become a class of objects unto themselves.

Keywords

Exploration; Investigation; Observations; Spacecraft; Airless bodies

Contents

Motivation

Our views of the solar system are ever changing. As observations are made, and data are collected, new ideas come to light. Old paradigms shift and change into the visions of the future. This ongoing process requires planetary scientists to continually re-evaluate their perceptions of the solar system in order to move the field forward.

Exploration and investigation of a wide variety of bodies has caused a similar shift in the way we view rocky, airless surfaces. The scientific returns from missions such as Dawn (Vesta/Ceres), LRO (Moon), Hayabusa (Itokawa), and MESSENGER (Mercury) along with other data sets have created a new conception of the common processes that affect their surfaces. Such new conceptions are helping us understand the places we have not sent dedicated missions, such as Phobos and Deimos and untold small asteroids. Airless Bodies in the inner solar system have become a class of objects unto themselves.

While a fuller story of the exploration of the rocky, airless bodies will unfold throughout this book, it is clear that the last two decades have seen a deluge of new data from in situ missions as well as telescopic observations (). Our moon has seen several visitors from the United States, Japan, India, and China, including orbiters, impactors, a lander, and a rover. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has operated since 2009 and continues to return detailed images and data from its instruments. China's ChangE series of missions are building toward an anticipated far side sample return in coming years. India's Chandrayaan-1 orbiter was one of three missions to cooperatively return widely accepted evidence that water and/or hydroxyl (OH in minerals) is present on the lunar surface, while NASA's LCROSS impactor exhumed material thought to contain polar ice.