SELMA mission: How do airless bodies interact with space environment? The Moon as an accessible laboratoryShow others and affiliations
2018 (English)In: Planetary and Space Science, ISSN 0032-0633, E-ISSN 1873-5088, Vol. 156, p. 23-40Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The Moon is an archetypal atmosphere-less celestial body in the Solar System. For such bodies, the environments are characterized by complex interaction among the space plasma, tenuous neutral gas, dust and the outermost layer of the surface. Here we propose the SELMA mission (Surface, Environment, and Lunar Magnetic Anomalies) to study how airless bodies interact with space environment. SELMA uses a unique combination of remote sensing via ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, and energetic neutral atom imaging, as well as in situ measurements of exospheric gas, plasma, and dust at the Moon. After observations in a lunar orbit for one year, SELMA will conduct an impact experiment to investigate volatile content in the soil of the permanently shadowed area of the Shackleton crater. SELMA also carries an impact probe to sound the Reiner-Gamma mini-magnetosphere and its interaction with the lunar regolith from the SELMA orbit down to the surface. SELMA was proposed to the European Space Agency as a medium-class mission (M5) in October 2016. Research on the SELMA scientific themes is of importance for fundamental planetary sciences and for our general understanding of how the Solar System works. In addition, SELMA outcomes will contribute to future lunar explorations through qualitative characterization of the lunar environment and, in particular, investigation of the presence of water in the lunar soil, as a valuable resource to harvest from the lunar regolith.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD , 2018. Vol. 156, p. 23-40
Keywords [en]
Moon exploration, Volatile, Water, Mini-magnetosphere, Dust, Permanently shadowed crater
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-231697DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2017.11.002ISI: 000435059800005Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85035108097OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-231697DiVA, id: diva2:1241753
Conference
Workshop on The Dust, Atmosphere, and Plasma Environment of the Moon and Small Bodies (DAP), JAN 11-13, 2017, Boulder, CO
Note
QC 20180824
2018-08-242018-08-242022-06-26Bibliographically approved