Lunar Seismology: A Data and Instrumentation Review
Abstract
Several seismic experiments were deployed on the Moon by the astronauts during the Apollo missions. The experiments began in 1969 with Apollo 11, and continued with Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17. Instruments at Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 remained operational until the final transmission in 1977. These remarkable experiments provide a valuable resource. Now is a good time to review this resource, since the InSight mission is returning seismic data from Mars, and seismic missions to the Moon and Europa are in development from different space agencies. We present an overview of the seismic data available from four sets of experiments on the Moon: the Passive Seismic Experiments, the Active Seismic Experiments, the Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment and the Lunar Surface Gravimeter. For each of these, we outline the instrumentation and the data availability.
- Publication:
-
Space Science Reviews
- Pub Date:
- July 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1007/s11214-020-00709-3
- Bibcode:
- 2020SSRv..216...89N
- Keywords:
-
- Lunar seismology;
- Apollo missions;
- Deep moonquakes;
- Shallow moonquakes;
- Meteoroids;
- Seismology;
- Lunar geophysical network