Simulations of a comet impact on the Moon and associated ice deposition in polar cold traps

Abstract

Modeling results of the water vapor plume produced by a comet impact on the Moon and of the resulting water ice deposits in the lunar cold traps are presented. The water vapor plume is simulated near the point of impact by the SOVA hydrocode and in the far field by the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method using as input the SOVA hydrocode solution at a fixed hemispherical interface. The SOVA hydrocode models the physics of the impact event such as the surface deformation and material phase changes during the impact. The further transport and retention processes, including gravity, photodestruction processes, and variable surface temperature with local polar cold traps, are modeled by the DSMC method for months after impact. In order to follow the water from the near field of the impact to the full planetary induced atmosphere, the 3D parallel DSMC code used a collision limiting scheme and an unsteady multi-domain approach. 3D results for the 45° oblique impact of a 2 km in diameter comet on the surface of the Moon at 30 km/s are presented. Most of the cometary water is lost due to escape just after impact and only ∼3% of the cometary water is initially retained on the Moon. Early downrange focusing of the water vapor plume is observed but the later material that is moving more slowly takes on a more symmetric shape with time. Several locations for the point of impact were investigated and final retention rates of ∼0.1% of the comet mass were observed. Based on the surface area of the cold traps used in the present simulations, ∼1 mm of ice would have accumulated in the cold traps after such an impact. Estimates for the total mass of water accumulated in the polar cold traps over 1 byr are consistent with recent observations.