HIGH RESOLUTION MORPHOLOGICAL AND SPECTRAL REFLECTANCE STUDIES OF APOLLO LANDiNG SITES ON THE MOON USING DATA FROM CHANDRAYAAN-1 AND LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER

Abstract

This study attempted to revisit the geology of the Apollo 16 Descartes region and Apollo 17 Taurus-Littrow valley through the spectral reflectance studies using Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M) the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Wide Angle Camera (LROC WAC) sensor. Through the spectral analysis by the method of Integrated Band Depth Composite, it was deduced that the Apollo 16 site lunar highlands are lithologically bland. They are largely composed of anorthosite with little variations of norite or noritic or gabbroic anorthosite with distance. The Taurus-Littrow valley of the Apollo 17 site was found to be basaltic. The massifs surrounding the valley are composed of highland rocks. But they are diverse as they comprise of ferroan anorthosites, alkali-suite rocks and norites subequally. Thus the Apollo 17 site terrain is much more lithologically diverse than the Apollo 16 site. The 3D models of the sites prepared using LROC WAC sensor topographic model and global mosaic highlighted the relief, the structure and the albedo of both the terrains. Both the terrains (except the Apollo 17 massifs) are low in albedo due to thick regolith covering that may have masked even the spectral character of the surface rocks