Analysis of the Topographic and Morphological Characteristics of Chang'e 3 Landing Site

Han Li1, Chun-Lai Li2, Lingli Mu2, Xiaoduan Zou2, Jianjun Liu2, Xin Ren3 and Xingguo Zeng2, (1)National Astronomical Observatorie, Beijing, China, (2)National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, (3)University of Bristol, School of Geographical Sciences, Bristol, United Kingdom
Abstract:
Chang’e 3 (CE-3) landed at (19.51ºW, 44.12ºN) in northwestern Mare Imbrium at 13:11 (GMT) on December 14, 2013, as China’s first mission to soft land on the Moon and explore the lunar surface. Employing CE-2 and CE-3 high-resolution topographic and imagery data, we analyze the background area (45 km × 70 km) of the landing site and the topographic, morphological, and lunar dust characteristics of the landing area. With CE-3 landing camera (LCAM) images, we extract information on the distribution of topographic elements, craters, boulders within 4 km × 4 km area of the landing site. In addition, we also analyze the effect of CE-3 engine on the distribution of lunar dust near the landing site. An area of 60 m × 135 m is affected with redistribution of dust and changed space weathering effect.
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