P077-0012
Intrepid: Traversing 4 Billion Years of Lunar History
Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Poster
Mark Southwick Robinson1, David T Blewett2, Brett W Denevi2, Michael Fitzgerald3, Terry Fong4, Elizabeth Frank5, Lee D. Graham6, Peter Illsley5, Brad L Jolliff7, Samuel Lawrence8, David J Lawrence9, Prasun Mahanti1, Heather M Meyer10, Elizabeth B Rampe11, Kevin Reinhart12, Harlan E. Spence13, Emerson J Speyerer1, Julie Stopar10, Sonia Tikoo14, Christopher Vorhees5, Robert Wagner1, David S Wettergreen15, Kevin W Lewis16, John O Elliott17, Issa A Nesnas18 and Rudranarayan Mukherjee19, (1)Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Tempe, AZ, United States, (2)JHU Applied Physics Lab, Laurel, MD, United States, (3)First Mode, Seattle, United States, (4)NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (5)First Mode, Seattle, WA, United States, (6)NASA Johnson Space Center, ARES, Houston, TX, United States, (7)Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, St. Louis, MO, United States, (8)NASA Johnson Space Center, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, Houston, United States, (9)Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, (10)Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, United States, (11)NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States, (12)Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States, (13)University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States, (14)Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, United States, (15)Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, United States, (16)Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States, (17)JPL/NASA/Caltech, Pasadena, CA, United States, (18)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, (19)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, United States
Abstract:
The last fifty years of planetary exploration have shown that knowledge of planetary scale differentiation, global asymmetries, and thermal evolution are key to understanding how planets change over time and how they develop their unique characteristics. Intrepid will explore the giant geochemical and volcanic anomaly known as the Procellarum KREEP Terrane (PKT) and interrogate four billion years of lunar history
by traversing through a unique juxtaposition of six key geologic regions not sampled by previous missions. Intrepid’s results, combined with global orbital observations and what we know from samples collected outside the PKT, will provide for the first time a holistic picture of large scale mantle processes and the thermal evolution of a silicate body other than Earth. The Intrepid mission concept has three key scientific themes with twelve specific objectives:
Theme 1: Evolution of the lunar interior and nature of the Procellarum KREEP Terrane
1a. Determine the cause of extended volcanism in the Procellarum region
1b. Determine the cause of the lunar crustal asymmetry
1c. Determine the origin of non-mare volcanism
1d. Determine composition of deep mantle from pyroclastic deposits
1d. Characterize decline of core dynamo and magnetic field over time
Theme 2: Diversity of styles of magmatism
2a. Characterize flood basalt emplacement from rilles, flows, and vents
2b. Determine origin(s) and composition(s) of cones, domes and shields
2c. Characterize the compositions and physical state (grain size, glass content) of pyroclastic materials
2d. Determine the nature of intrusive volcanism and relation to effusive deposits
Theme 3: Post-emplacement modification of magmatic materials:
3a. Test hypotheses of crater impact formation, ballistic sedimentation, ray formation, and physical properties of regolith outward from impact
3b. Determine target material influence on crater characteristics and impact mechanics
3c. Characterize variations in space weathering across a variety of geologic regions and ages (relationship to radiation environment, H abundance, magnetic anomalies)
Intrepid’s pioneering 1800 km traverse across six diverse geologic regions will reveal key aspects of lunar evolution paving the way for the next decade of planetary exploration.
