Microwave Emission Features of Von Kármán Crater Revealed by Chang’E-2 CELMS Data

Abstract

Von Kármán crater is located in the northwest of the SPA basin on the far side of the Moon. The crater cuts through the shallow crust and has abnormal distribution in mineral composition. Therefore，the study on the microwave emission features of Von Kármán crater will be of great significance for the thermal evolution and magma evolution of the moon. Based on the microwave sounder（CELMS）data from Chang’e-2，the brightness temperature（T_B）maps and T_B difference（dT_B）maps are generated using the time angle analysis and the bilinear interpolation method. Then the microwave radiation characteristics of Von Kármán crater are studied combined with previous geologic results and the composition map via the ArcGIS software. The discoveries are as followings：（1）a high T_B anomaly is found in the north of the crater basin，preliminarily identified as high substrate temperature；（2）the T_B shows a good correlation with the（FeO+TiO₂）content in the south part of the crater basin；（3）according to the T_B behaviors of the Von Kármán crater，new geological units are zoned in the crater floor;（4）according to the T_B performances of the Von Kármán crater，high priority of the candidate landing areas should be given to the north part with T_B anomaly，followed by the south and west parts.

Keywords

CELMS data / Von Kármán crater / microwave remote sensing / Geological significance