Lunar-VISE is a NASA “Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) program-selected mission, chosen to investigate the Gruithuisen (pronounced “groot-high-sen”) domes on the Moon. It comprises a lander and a rover carrying a suite of instruments specifically designed to investigate this site. Before launch, Dr. Kristen Bennett of Astrogeology is working on the landing site characterization team to identify a safe landing site and scientifically interesting spots to visit with the rover. After landing, Bennett will use visible and thermal datasets to investigate how the lava dome erupted onto the lunar surface. The lander will have cameras to survey the site (even during landing) and watch the rover as it navigates the surface, and the rover will have instruments to measure mineral and chemical composition and the thermophysical properties of the rocks near the rover. This combination of spacecraft and instruments will be key to investigating how the Gruithuisen domes formed and evolved over time.

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The Gruithuisen domes are particularly interesting because they are a type of volcanic feature not commonly found on the Moon. Most lunar volcanoes have a lower proportion of silica to more iron and magnesium-rich minerals like pyroxene. On Earth, these silica-rich types of volcanoes originate from magma with a large amount of water and/or from volcanoes related to tectonic features. The Moon doesn’t have similar plate tectonics and is thought to be a “dry” planetary body, with very low magma water content so this type of volcanism wouldn’t be expected in such conditions. Lunar-VISE is being sent to these domes to investigate the minerals and composition to better understand how they formed to get a better understanding of lunar evolution and magmatic conditions.

Bennett’s role on the team is to investigate how the volcanic deposit formed. To do this, she will use visible images to look at the geomorphology of the landing site, as well as thermal images to learn about the physical properties of the dome. Bennett will search for individual lava flow lobes that could inform how the lava erupted on the ancient lunar surface. She will also look for any variations in physical properties; if there is a layer of loose/unconsolidated regolith sandwiched between solid/blocky layers, this could suggest that explosive volcanism occurred here in addition to effusive lava flows. 

The Lunar-VISE mission is led by UCF’s principal investigator Kerri Donaldson Hanna, in collaboration with many industry and academic partners. Lunar-VISE will study how the Gruithuisen domes were formed, and by extension, learn more about the formation and composition of the lunar surface. “The next step for the Lunar-VISE engineers is the building and testing of instruments and for the science team, we will be continuing to characterize our landing site and prioritizing science at the surface,” Donaldson Hanna says. 

Bennett is also part of the team that is characterizing the landing site and developing a strategy to obtain the observations that are necessary to answer the outstanding questions about the Gruithuisen domes. This work includes searching for a safe place for the lander to touch down that is free of craters, boulders, and steep slopes. Additionally, Bennett has helped identify potential locations for the rover to investigate in order to begin developing a rover traverse path. 

Follow along with Astrogeology as we explore the many unique characteristics of our Moon!