Ancient Igneous Intrusions and Early Expansion of the Moon Revealed by GRAIL Gravity Gradiometry

Author:

Andrews-Hanna Jeffrey C.1,Asmar Sami W.2,Head James W.3,Kiefer Walter S.4,Konopliv Alexander S.2,Lemoine Frank G.5,Matsuyama Isamu6,Mazarico Erwan57,McGovern Patrick J.4,Melosh H. Jay8,Neumann Gregory A.5,Nimmo Francis9,Phillips Roger J.10,Smith David E.7,Solomon Sean C.1112,Taylor G. Jeffrey13,Wieczorek Mark A.14,Williams James G.2,Zuber Maria T.7

Affiliation:

1. Department of Geophysics and Center for Space Resources, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA.

2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.

3. Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.

4. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA.

5. Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.

6. Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.

7. Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139–4307, USA.

8. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.

9. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.

10. Planetary Science Directorate, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.

11. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015, USA.

12. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.

13. Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.

14. Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Université Paris Diderot, Case 7071, Lamarck A, 5, rue Thomas Mann, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France.

Abstract

The Holy GRAIL? The gravity field of a planet provides a view of its interior and thermal history by revealing areas of different density. GRAIL, a pair of satellites that act as a highly sensitive gravimeter, began mapping the Moon's gravity in early 2012. Three papers highlight some of the results from the primary mission. Zuber et al. (p. 668 , published online 6 December) discuss the overall gravity field, which reveals several new tectonic and geologic features of the Moon. Impacts have worked to homogenize the density structure of the Moon's upper crust while fracturing it extensively. Wieczorek et al. (p. 671 , published online 6 December) show that the upper crust is 35 to 40 kilometers thick and less dense—and thus more porous—than previously thought. Finally, Andrews-Hanna et al. (p. 675 , published online 6 December) show that the crust is cut by widespread magmatic dikes that may reflect a period of expansion early in the Moon's history.

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Subject

Multidisciplinary

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