Global Elemental Maps of the Moon: The Lunar Prospector Gamma-Ray Spectrometer

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Lawrence, D. J., Feldman, W. C., Barraclough, B. L., Binder, A. B., Elphic, R. C., Maurice, S., Thomsen, D. R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1998
• Subjects: South Pole; Aitken; South pole
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.281.5382.1484; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.281.5382.1484

Lunar Prospector gamma-ray spectrometer spectra along with counting rate maps of thorium, potassium, and iron delineate large compositional variations over the lunar surface. Thorium and potassium are highly concentrated in and around the nearside western maria and less so in the South Pole–Aitken basin. Counting rate maps of iron gamma-rays show a surface iron distribution that is in general agreement with other measurements from Clementine and the Lunar Prospector neutron detectors.