The Crust of the Moon as Seen by GRAIL

Mark A. Wieczorek; Gregory A. Neumann; Francis Nimmo; Walter S. Kiefer; G. Jeffrey Taylor; H. Jay Melosh; Roger J. Phillips; Sean C. Solomon; Jeffrey C. Andrews-Hanna; Sami W. Asmar; Alexander S. Konopliv; Frank G. Lemoine; David E. Smith; Michael M. Watkins; James G. Williams; Maria T. Zuber

doi:10.1126/science.1231530

journal article Feb 08, 2013

The Crust of the Moon as Seen by GRAIL

Mark A. Wieczorek

Gregory A. Neumann Francis Nimmo

Walter S. Kiefer G. Jeffrey Taylor H. Jay Melosh Roger J. Phillips Sean C. Solomon Jeffrey C. Andrews-Hanna

Sami W. Asmar Alexander S. Konopliv Frank G. Lemoine David E. Smith Michael M. Watkins James G. Williams

Maria T. Zuber

Science Vol. 339 No. 6120 pp. 671-675 · American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

View at Publisher Save 10.1126/science.1231530

Abstract

The Holy GRAIL?

The gravity field of a planet provides a view of its interior and thermal history by revealing areas of different density. GRAIL, a pair of satellites that act as a highly sensitive gravimeter, began mapping the Moon's gravity in early 2012. Three papers highlight some of the results from the primary mission.

Zuber
et al.

(p.
668
, published online 6 December) discuss the overall gravity field, which reveals several new tectonic and geologic features of the Moon. Impacts have worked to homogenize the density structure of the Moon's upper crust while fracturing it extensively.

Wieczorek
et al.

(p.
671
, published online 6 December) show that the upper crust is 35 to 40 kilometers thick and less dense—and thus more porous—than previously thought. Finally,

Andrews-Hanna
et al.

(p.
675
, published online 6 December) show that the crust is cut by widespread magmatic dikes that may reflect a period of expansion early in the Moon's history.

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References

Details

Published: Feb 08, 2013
Vol/Issue: 339(6120)
Pages: 671-675

Authors

M

Mark A. Wieczorek

Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot, Case 7071, Lamarck A, 5, rue Thomas Mann, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France.

G

Gregory A. Neumann

Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.

F

Francis Nimmo

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.

W

Walter S. Kiefer

Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA.

G

G. Jeffrey Taylor

Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.

H

H. Jay Melosh

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, 550 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.

R

Roger J. Phillips

Planetary Science Directorate, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.

S

Sean C. Solomon

Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015, USA.; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.

J

Jeffrey C. Andrews-Hanna

Department of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, CO 80401–1887, USA.

S

Sami W. Asmar

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.

A

Alexander S. Konopliv

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.

F

Frank G. Lemoine

Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.

D

David E. Smith

Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139–4307, USA.

M

Michael M. Watkins

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.

J

James G. Williams

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.

M

Maria T. Zuber

Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139–4307, USA.

Cite This Article

Mark A. Wieczorek, Gregory A. Neumann, Francis Nimmo, et al. (2013). The Crust of the Moon as Seen by GRAIL. Science, 339(6120), 671-675. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1231530

The Crust of the Moon as Seen by GRAIL

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