| Author: | Ma, Jun |
| Title: | Estimation of regolith thickness in the candidate Chang'E-5 landing region on the moon |
| Advisors: | Wu, Bo (LSGI) |
| Degree: | M.Sc. |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Subject: | Building information modeling Buildings—Computer-aided design Remote sensing Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Faculty of Construction and Environment |
| Pages: | xii, 91 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Sediments of fine-grained materials are widely distributed lunar surface. These surface materials belong to particle aggregates with very fine cohesive properties, namely lunar regolith. Chang'E-5 is the lunar prober of the third phase of the Chinese lunar exploration project. The Chang'E-5 will perform automatic sampling on the lunar surface and carry regolith or rock samples back to Earth. It will drill a hole up to two meters in depth for sample collection; therefore, it is of significant importance to investigate the regolith thickness of the landing region in order to identify a suitable landing site for the Chang'E-5 mission. The traditional crater morphological methods extract the dimensions of craters of specific types of concentric, flat-bottomed and central-mound craters to derive the thickness of the lunar regolith. However, recent studies have shown that flat-bottomed and central-mound craters can also be formed by clusters of projectiles. Therefore, in this study, only concentric craters were used to estimate the lunar regolith thickness. We used a high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and Digital Orthophotos generated by LROC NAC image for concentric crater determination and for regolith thickness estimation. The method involves the following steps: (1) Identify concentric craters on the high-resolution DEMs to direct measure the thickness of the lunar regolith. (2) Use above measurement results to derive an updated model for estimation of regolith thickness in other regions where no high-resolution DEMs are available. (3) Apply the derived model to estimate the regolith thickness for all the concentric craters in the Chang'E-5 landing region. (4) Interpolate a regolith thickness map from the above outcome based on the Kriging method. The results show that the thickness of the lunar regolith in this area is from 1.23 m to 13.87 m, and the average thickness is 5.11 m. This research also analyzed the relationships between regolith thickness and surface ages, and found that the older the geological unit is, the thicker the regolith is. The derived results were also compared with other related studies. Through this study, a reference for Chang'E-5 landing area is provided for future progress and the regolith thickness information can be used for other studies on lunar surface and chronology. In addition, the review and methodology provide knowledge of the lunar regolith in the CE-5 landing area, which is derived from rigorous analysis. We believe that the information in terms of the lunar regolith thickness provided will contribute to the CE-5 mission and help provide fundamental estimates. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 991022385445003411.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 3.14 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Copyright Undertaking
As a bona fide Library user, I declare that:
- I will abide by the rules and legal ordinances governing copyright regarding the use of the Database.
- I will use the Database for the purpose of my research or private study only and not for circulation or further reproduction or any other purpose.
- I agree to indemnify and hold the University harmless from and against any loss, damage, cost, liability or expenses arising from copyright infringement or unauthorized usage.
By downloading any item(s) listed above, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the copyright undertaking as stated above, and agree to be bound by all of its terms.
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/10566