Phil StookeThat landing site in Boguslawsky was not the end of the story. This map shows 2016 site study results by Russians and by a group led by Jessica Flahout. It might seem similar to the last few posts but check the latitudes. The 2010 sites were around 88 south. The 2011 sites were at 75-85 south. The Boguslawsky sites are at 73 south. These are 65-75 south and the preferred ellipses are about 68-69 south. The poles are tricky.
#maps #moon #lunaglob
Here's a bit of a problem. The crater floor is thought to be made of debris thrown in from other impacts, so we don't really know where it came from. But the East Ellipse would sample ejecta from a smaller crater (Bog. D) which has excavated the wall and rim of Boguslawsky itself. So we do know where that came from and that ellipse was preferred.
#moon #lunaglob
#moon #lunaglob
In 2015 our mission was still being called Luna-Glob, and site work had converged on one place, the 90 km wide crater Boguslawsky at 73 south. This map shows two ellipses described by Ivanov et al. in Planetary and Space Science. They are in view of Earth all the time and are in the smoothest parts of the floor. Craters with flat floors like this should have central peaks, so in this case any peak is buried under the material of the crater floor. #maps #moon #lunaglob
One very important data source for this site selection work was the Russian LEND neutron detector flown on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Its results can be interpreted to reveal hydrogen in the surface materials. Most or all of these landing sites are in areas of higher hydrogen content. Some are too rough or steep and would be dropped later.
Then in 2011 two international workshops were held in Moscow - with presentations still online today:
http://www.iki.rssi.ru/conf/2011-lg/
(open page in something that will translate it for you if necessary, but many of the presentation PDFs are in English).
They included proposals for sites at north and south poles. These maps show both sets as well as some later additions. All the modern datasets and GIS analytical tools are used, a big change from the old days!
#maps #moon #lunaglob
These are the first set of sites for Luna-Glob. Two circles of small penetrators and two large penetrators carry geophysics instruments (proximity to Apollo sites is to match new data to old more easily). A polar lander goes to a shaded site in Shoemaker crater near the pole. The polar resources became the most important part of this later.
#maps #moon #Lunaglob
#maps #moon #Lunaglob
