The Evolution of a Spacecraft-Generated Lunar Exosphere.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how spacecraft alter planetary environments can offer important insights into key physical processes, as well as being critical to planning mission operations and observations. In this context, it is important to recognize that almost any powered lunar landing will be an active volatile release experiment, due to the release of exhaust gases during descent. This presents both an opportunity to study the interaction of volatiles with the lunar surface, and a need to predict how non-indigenous gases are dispersed, and how long they persist in the lunar environment. This work investigates these questions through numerical simulations of the transport of water vapor during a nominal lunar landing and for two lunar days afterwards. Simulation results indicate that the water vapor

SUBMITTER: Prem P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8098081 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature