Lunar Surface: Changes in 31 Months and Micrometeoroid Flux

Comparison of pictures of the lunar surface taken 31 months apart by Surveyor 3 and Apollo 12 show only one change in the areas disturbed by Surveyor: a 2-millimeter particle, in a footpad imprint, that may have fallen in from the rim or been kicked in by an approaching astronaut. Vertical walls 6 c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1970-12, Vol.170 (3962), p.1092-1094
Main Author: Jaffe, Leonard D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronauts
Axes of rotation
Impact craters
Lunar soil
Micrometeoroids
Radar
Reflectance
Spacecraft
Wavelengths
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Summary:Comparison of pictures of the lunar surface taken 31 months apart by Surveyor 3 and Apollo 12 show only one change in the areas disturbed by Surveyor: a 2-millimeter particle, in a footpad imprint, that may have fallen in from the rim or been kicked in by an approaching astronaut. Vertical walls 6 centimeters high did not collapse and dark ejecta remained dark. No meteorite craters as large as 1.5 millimeters in diameter were seen on a smooth soil surface 20 centimeters in diameter; this indicates a micrometeoroid flux lower than 4 × 10$^{-7}$ micrometeoroids per square meter-second at an energy equivalent to about 3 × 10$^{-8}$ gram at 20 kilometers per second. This flux is near the lower limit of previous determinations.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.170.3962.1092