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- Title
Exploring the Lunar Regolith's Thickness and Dielectric Properties Using Band‐Limited Impedance at Chang'E‐4 Landing Site.
- Authors
Feng, Yongjiu; Chen, Shurui; Tong, Xiaohua; Wang, Chao; Li, Pengshuo; Xi, Mengrong; Xiao, Changjiang
- Abstract
The Yutu‐2 rover onboard China's Chang'E‐4 was the first to land in the Von Kármán crater on the lunar farside, where structural and dielectric properties may provide previously unknown clues to lunar formation and evolution. Based on the Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) with 500 MHz onboard the Yutu‐2 rover, we proposed a band‐limited impedance (BLIMP) inversion method to generate continuous dielectric 2‐D profiles with the help of dielectric constants retrieved from point reflectors (e.g., buried rocks), which provide low‐frequency information that may be lost or distorted in the LPR data pre‐processing. The dielectric constants retrieved from point reflectors were transformed from dielectric constant fitting curves, where these discrete dielectric constants were calculated using the hyperbolic fitting method. We estimated that the top fine‐grained regolith thickness along the rover path varies from ∼5.3 to ∼15.0 m in the first 27 lunar days of operation. The thickness variation could most likely be attributed to changes in ancient surface topography buried underground and ejecta from nearby craters. Compared to methods based on a singular dielectric constant, the estimated 2‐D dielectric profile in this study can reduce the uncertainties in lunar regolith thickness estimation, especially in the shallow layers. The BLIMP method and the estimated regolith thickness can improve our understanding of lunar subsurface structure and formation. Plain Language Summary: The lunar regolith thickness is an important stratigraphic feature for scientific exploration such as temperature inversion and mineral content estimation on the Moon. The Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) onboard the Yutu‐2 rover (Chang'E‐4) provides a unique opportunity to probe the dielectric properties of lunar regolith and thereby estimate the regolith thickness on the farside of the Moon. We analyzed the variations in the dielectric constants of the Yutu‐2 LPR data using the band‐limited impedance (BLIMP) method. The analysis reveals a two‐layer subsurface structure with the top layer of fine‐grained ranging from ∼5.3 to ∼15.0 m. Analysis suggests that the variations in the regolith thickness were most likely attributed to changes in ancient surface topography buried underground and nearby craters. Compared to methods based on a singular dielectric constant, the estimated 2‐D dielectric profile in this study can reduce the uncertainties in lunar regolith thickness estimation, especially in the shallow layers. Key Points: We integrated BLIMP and hyperbolic fitting to inverse continuous 2‐D dielectric profilesWe estimated that the top fine‐grained regolith thickness along the moving path varies from ∼5.3 to ∼15.0 m in the first 27 lunar daysThe thickness variation could be attributed to the ejecta from nearby small craters, hence impacting the calculation of dielectric property
- Subjects
CHINA; LUNAR soil; DIELECTRIC properties; LUNAR craters; LUNAR exploration; PERMITTIVITY; TEMPERATURE inversions
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets, 2023, Vol 128, Issue 3, p1
- ISSN
2169-9097
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2022JE007540