A story of regolith told by Lunar Penetrating Radar

Abstract

Knowledge of the lunar regolith not only provides important information about lunar geology, but is also critical to quantifying potential resources for lunar exploration and engineering for human outposts. The Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) onboard China's Chang'E-3 (CE-3) provides a unique opportunity for mapping the subsurface structure and the near-surface stratigraphic structure of the regolith. A radar image with high resolution can be produced using a data processing pipeline. The contact interface of the regolith and the basement rock is explored according to forward simulation results. F-K (Frequency-wavenumber) filtering that highlights the contact surface of the regolith and the basement rock is carried out. The energy distribution of the LPR data helps to stratify the lunar regolith. Finally, by combining this with the history of the Moon, regional geology, and particularly the LPR data, we deduce the evolution of the regolith on the CE-3 landing site.