Geological and Geomorphological Characteristics of High-Priority Landing Sites for the Luna-Glob Mission

Abstract

The geomorphological and geological analysis of the surface of three primary and ten secondary landing ellipses (15 × 30 km) for the Russian Luna-Glob automated scientific station (Luna-25) is presented. The earlier selected landing ellipses are found in the sector of 65°–85° S and 0°–60° E of the lunar southern hemisphere. The geological characteristics of the ellipse include the analysis of the surface age and the identification of the material sources. The analyses of water equivalent hydrogen concentration in the sector of landing and rock content on the surface are also carried out. The constraints, such as the surface inclination and the characteristic of the spacecraft’s flight path are used for prioritization of the ellipses from an engineering-technical perspective. According to the results of the study, landing ellipses 1, 3, 4, 6 and 8 are determined as high-priority, while ellipses 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, as well as B1 and B2 are found the least favorable.