Density Structure of the Von Kármán Crater in the Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Initial Subsurface Interpretation of the Chang’E-4 Landing Site Region
The Von Kármán Crater, within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, is the landing site of China’s Chang’E-4 mission. To complement the in situ exploration mission and provide initial subsurface interpretation, we applied a 3D density inversion using the Gravity Re...
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doaj-eb71158e7ec64b4b887df12be043ea912020-11-25T01:56:45ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202019-10-011920444510.3390/s19204445s19204445Density Structure of the Von Kármán Crater in the Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Initial Subsurface Interpretation of the Chang’E-4 Landing Site RegionChikondi Chisenga0Jianguo Yan1Jiannan Zhao2Qingyun Deng3Jean-Pierre Barriot4State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS), Wuhan University, Box 129, Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS), Wuhan University, Box 129, Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, Planetary Science Institute, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS), Wuhan University, Box 129, Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing (LIESMARS), Wuhan University, Box 129, Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430070, ChinaThe Von Kármán Crater, within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, is the landing site of China’s Chang’E-4 mission. To complement the in situ exploration mission and provide initial subsurface interpretation, we applied a 3D density inversion using the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) gravity data. We constrain our inversion method using known geological and geophysical lunar parameters to reduce the non-uniqueness associated with gravity inversion. The 3D density models reveal vertical and lateral density variations, 2600−3200 kg/m<sup>3</sup>, assigned to the changing porosity beneath the Von Kármán Crater. We also identify two mass excess anomalies in the crust with a steep density contrast of 150 kg/m<sup>3</sup>, which were suggested to have been caused by multiple impact cratering. The anomalies from recovered near surface density models, together with the gravity derivative maps extending to the lower crust, are consistent with surface geological manifestation of excavated mantle materials from remote sensing studies. Therefore, we suggest that the density distribution of the Von Kármán Crater indicates multiple episodes of impact cratering that resulted in formation and destruction of ancient craters, with crustal reworking and excavation of mantle materials.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/20/4445von kármán craterdensity structuregravity inversionchang’e-4 mission |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Chikondi Chisenga Jianguo Yan Jiannan Zhao Qingyun Deng Jean-Pierre Barriot |
spellingShingle |
Chikondi Chisenga Jianguo Yan Jiannan Zhao Qingyun Deng Jean-Pierre Barriot Density Structure of the Von Kármán Crater in the Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Initial Subsurface Interpretation of the Chang’E-4 Landing Site Region Sensors von kármán crater density structure gravity inversion chang’e-4 mission |
author_facet |
Chikondi Chisenga Jianguo Yan Jiannan Zhao Qingyun Deng Jean-Pierre Barriot |
author_sort |
Chikondi Chisenga |
title |
Density Structure of the Von Kármán Crater in the Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Initial Subsurface Interpretation of the Chang’E-4 Landing Site Region |
title_short |
Density Structure of the Von Kármán Crater in the Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Initial Subsurface Interpretation of the Chang’E-4 Landing Site Region |
title_full |
Density Structure of the Von Kármán Crater in the Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Initial Subsurface Interpretation of the Chang’E-4 Landing Site Region |
title_fullStr |
Density Structure of the Von Kármán Crater in the Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Initial Subsurface Interpretation of the Chang’E-4 Landing Site Region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Density Structure of the Von Kármán Crater in the Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Initial Subsurface Interpretation of the Chang’E-4 Landing Site Region |
title_sort |
density structure of the von kármán crater in the northwestern south pole-aitken basin: initial subsurface interpretation of the chang’e-4 landing site region |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sensors |
issn |
1424-8220 |
publishDate |
2019-10-01 |
description |
The Von Kármán Crater, within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, is the landing site of China’s Chang’E-4 mission. To complement the in situ exploration mission and provide initial subsurface interpretation, we applied a 3D density inversion using the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) gravity data. We constrain our inversion method using known geological and geophysical lunar parameters to reduce the non-uniqueness associated with gravity inversion. The 3D density models reveal vertical and lateral density variations, 2600−3200 kg/m<sup>3</sup>, assigned to the changing porosity beneath the Von Kármán Crater. We also identify two mass excess anomalies in the crust with a steep density contrast of 150 kg/m<sup>3</sup>, which were suggested to have been caused by multiple impact cratering. The anomalies from recovered near surface density models, together with the gravity derivative maps extending to the lower crust, are consistent with surface geological manifestation of excavated mantle materials from remote sensing studies. Therefore, we suggest that the density distribution of the Von Kármán Crater indicates multiple episodes of impact cratering that resulted in formation and destruction of ancient craters, with crustal reworking and excavation of mantle materials. |
topic |
von kármán crater density structure gravity inversion chang’e-4 mission |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/20/4445 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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