Eau claire de la lune: clarifying the origin and distribution of water on the moon

Tai Udovicic, Christian J (2022) Eau claire de la lune: clarifying the origin and distribution of water on the moon. Doctoral thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

Water is an essential resource to life as we know it. On the Moon, water is scarce and should not be able to survive on its harsh airless surface. However, several spacecraft measurements and samples returned from the Moon indicate that water exists across the entire lunar surface. There is active debate surrounding the origin, location, and abundance of water on the Moon. Using a three-pronged approach centered on spacecraft observations and computational modeling, the work presented here seeks to answer fundamental questions about where water is found on the Moon and how it got there. One hypothesis suggests that water could be produced by space weathering, the combination of processes that alter the lunar surface due to its exposure to space. I use spacecraft imagery to investigate the rate of space weathering on the Moon to investigate it as a possible source of lunar hydration. I then test whether the spacecraft-observed widespread hydroxyl (OH) / water (H₂O) signature migrates across the surface daily. Finally, I update a simulation of ice delivery to the lunar polar regions to predict where and how deep ancient ice may be buried near the south pole. I find that space weathering alters the lunar surface at a predictable rate for the first 1 billion years of exposure to space. However, the widespread OH / H₂O signature is inherent, or develops on much shorter timescales, and I find no evidence of its daily migration. Finally, I show that the majority of ice that may be buried near the poles has likely been disrupted by impact events and that any remaining ice is most likely 10s to 100s of meters below the surface. I discuss these findings in the context of active and future lunar space exploration. With a new era of lunar exploration on the horizon, the three investigations herein provide key constraints on the origin and distribution of water on the Moon.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Moon; Planetary Science; Remote Sensing; Space weathering; Thermophysics; Lunar water;
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Date Deposited:	14 Jun 2023 16:50
Last Modified:	14 Jun 2023 16:50
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6022

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