Global absorption center map of the mafic minerals on the Moon as viewed by CE-1 IIM data

Abstract

Determining the global distribution of minerals on the Moon has been an important goal of lunar science. Hyperspectral remote sensing is an important approach to acquiring minerals on the Moon on the global scale. The wavelength of the absorption band center is the key parameter for identifying minerals with reflectance spectra as well as remote sensing data. The global absorption center map of the mafic minerals of the Moon was produced for the first time with the Chang’E-1 IIM data. This map shows the global distribution of mafic minerals such as orthopyroxenes, clinopyroxenes, and olivine and even plagioclase feldspar of the Moon. The validation for some representative areas indicates that the global map is reliable and even more detailed than the results derived from Clementine-data. Moreover, our method is insensitive to the topography and viewing and illumination geometries. The global absorption band center map not only contributes to the lunar science research, but also has other implications to be further studied. Moreover, the preprocessing methods such as calibration and correction introduced in this study can be useful in other research with IIM data.