Distribution of water phase near the poles of the Moon from gravity aspects

Abstract

Our Moon periodically moves through the magnetic tail of the Earth that contains terrestrial ions of hydrogen and oxygen. A possible density contrast might have been discovered that could be consistent with the presence of water phase of potential terrestrial origin. Using novel gravity aspects (descriptors) derived from harmonic potential coefficients of gravity field of the Moon, we discovered gravity strike angle anomalies that point to water phase locations in the polar regions of the Moon. Our analysis suggests that impact cratering processes were responsible for specific pore space network that were subsequently filled with the water phase filling volumes of permafrost in the lunar subsurface. In this work, we suggest the accumulation of up to ~ 3000 km³ of terrestrial water phase (Earth's atmospheric escape) now filling the pore spaced regolith, portion of which is distributed along impact zones of the polar regions of the Moon. These unique locations serve as potential resource utilization sites for future landing exploration and habitats (e.g., NASA Artemis Plan objectives).

Figure 1

Sketch showing three-dimensional cutaway of Earth’s magnetosphere. The blue and white arrows are motion pathways of ions (for details see Seki et al.) illustrating the mechanism for oxygen/hydrogen ions transfer to the Moon. Red dotted line with the arrow shows motion of the Moon into the magnetospheric tail. Escape locations into the interplanetary space is marked by locations i, ii, iii, iv. Image was drown using Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac Version 16.55.

Figure 2

Geophysics, topography, and geological subunits of the Moons polar regions. (A) Gravity comb factor (CF) plotted for ratio I < 0.9 (see Eq. (2) and definition of CF in Supplementary information). The color legend identifies degree of alignment of strike angles (also Figs. 3, 4); (B) Gravity second derivative T_zz [E] along with topography [m]. Three areas outlined by red lines and labelled with NSR S1, NSR S3, and NSR S4 are regions identified with a potential water rich permafrost based on neutron suppression observations; (C) Geological map units, where in north pole panel significant craters are labelled by yellow letters as: A—Rozhdestvenskiy U, B—Nansen F, C—Hermite A, D—Porges A, E—Porges B, F—Nansen C, G—Peary, H—Rozhdestvenskiy W, I—Porges C, J—Porges D, K—Porges E, L—Porges F, M—McCoy A, and craters in south pole panel as: A—Haworth, B—Faustini, C—Wiechert J, D—Idel’son L, E—DeGerlache, F—Shackleton, G—Sverdrup, H—Slater, I—Wiechert P, J—Kocher, K—Wiechert U, and L—Nobile; Data in plots (A), (B) were produced by combination of MATLAB, Surfer7.0 and Microsoft PowerPoint. (C) is a PowerPoint-modified Unified Geology Map of the Moon.

Figure 3

Stability of the comb factor (CF) within the area of north pole of the Moon. Dimensions are in meters. (A) Left panel corresponds to the strike angle plot and its CF for the north pole in Fig. 2A. The CF between 0.99 and 1.00 is in red color while the lower CF is in blue color. (B) Right panel shows CF between 0.97 and 1.00 in red color while the lower CF is in blue (blue symbol is larger for contrast clarity). Both plots are strike angles for ratio I < 0.9 (see Eq. 2), sensitive to weakness directions of the rocks in subsurface structures near the north pole of the Moon. Data were plotted using MATLAB software.

Figure 4

Stability of the comb factor (CF) within the area of south pole of the Moon. Dimensions are in meters. (A) Left panel corresponds to the strike angle plot and its CF for the south pole in Fig. 2A. The CF between 0.99 and 1.00 is in red color while the lower CF is in blue color. (B) Right panel shows CF between 0.97 and 1.00 in red color while the lower CF is in blue (blue symbol is larger for contrast clarity). Black letter P shows significant extent of CF-detected pores in the areas of Aitkin basin. Both plots are strike angles for ratio I < 0.9 (see Eq. 2), sensitive to weakness directions of the rocks in subsurface structures near the north pole of the Moon. Data were plotted using MATLAB software.