OSIRIS-REx Visible and Near-Infrared Observations of the Moon
Abstract
The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission observed the Moon during the spacecraft's Earth gravity assist in 2017. From the spacecraft view, the lunar phase was 42°, and the in-view hemisphere was dominated by anorthositic highlands terrain. Lunar spectra obtained by the OSIRIS-REx Visible and InfraRed Spectrometer show evidence of several candidate absorption features. We observe the 2.8-μm hydration band, confirming the spectral results from other missions, but detected in full-disk spectra. We also tentatively identify weak spectral features near 0.9 and 1.3 μm, consistent with lunar regolith containing a mixture of plagioclase and orthopyroxene minerals, as expected for highlands terrain.
- Publication:
-
Geophysical Research Letters
- Pub Date:
- June 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1029/2019GL083341
- Bibcode:
- 2019GeoRL..46.6322S
- Keywords:
-
- (101955) Bennu;
- OSIRIS-REx;
- Moon