★ April 24, 2024, 09:00 AM (UTC+8)
Speaker: Prof. Kerri Donaldson Hanna (Planetary Sciences Group, Department of Physics, University of Central Florida)
Title: Exploration of the Moon’s silicic volcanism at the Gruithuisen Domes
Prof. Kerri Donaldson Hanna
Bio (Dr. Kerri Donaldson Hanna)
Dr. Donaldson Hanna received her B.S. in Space Sciences at Florida Institute of Technology and then her M.S. and Ph.D. in Geological Sciences at Brown University. After her Ph.D., she spent 5.5 years at the University of Oxford working as a postdoctoral researcher and UK Space Agency Aurora Research fellow within the Planetary Surfaces and Experiments group. Dr. Donaldson Hanna joined the Department of Physics at the University of Central Florida in March 2019.
Dr. Donaldson Hanna’s research group focuses on better understanding (1) the formation and evolution of airless bodies within our Solar System, (2) the distribution of planetary materials across the Solar System, and (3) the thermal infrared behavior of planetary materials. Her research group combines spacecraft and telescopic remote sensing observations of airless bodies with laboratory measurements of analog materials utilizing bespoke environment chambers. Currently Dr. Donaldson Hanna is the Principal Investigator of Lunar-VISE and a Co-Investigator on several space missions including the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, L-CIRiS, and Lunar Trailblazer, and was a participating scientist on the OSIRIS-REx mission.
Abstract
The Gruithuisen domes were first identified as volcanic structures distinct from their surrounding mare flows based on their distinct morphology and unusually red-sloped UV-visible spectrum. Morphologic analyses of the steep-sided domes suggested they are composed of highly viscous magmas similar to terrestrial extrusive volcanic features, which are consistent with higher silica contents (> 52 wt% SiO2) found in rhyolites, dacites and basaltic andesites. Further observations by Lunar Prospector (LP), Diviner Lunar Radiometer (Diviner), and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) have shown that the domes are enriched in Th (~17 to 40 ppm) and SiO2, and low in FeO. However, the exact composition of the rock making up the domes has remained elusive.
The Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-VISE) was recently selected through NASA’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) call to be delivered to the lunar surface on an upcoming Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) lander. The UCF-led payload and team will investigate the regolith and boulders comprising the Gruithuisen Domes using a suite of cameras on the CLPS lander, and two multi-spectral imaging systems and a gamma ray and neutron spectrometer on a rover. In this talk, I will describe the proposed mission with a scheduled launch date in early-2027.
