A QUANTITATIVE COMPARISON OF LUNAR ORBITAL NEUTRON DATA
- Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)
- BAER, Planetary Systems Branch, Space Sciences and Astrobiology Division, MS 245-3, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723 (United States)
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)
Data from the Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) Collimated Sensors for Epithermal Neutrons (CSETN) are used in conjunction with a model based on results from the Lunar Prospector (LP) mission to quantify the extent of the background in the LEND CSETN. A simple likelihood analysis implies that at least 90% of the lunar component of the LEND CSETN flux results from high-energy epithermal (HEE) neutrons passing through the walls of the collimator. Thus, the effective FWHM of the LEND CSETN field of view is comparable to that of the omni-directional LP Neutron Spectrometer. The resulting map of HEE neutrons offers the opportunity to probe the hydrogen abundance at low latitudes and to provide constraints on the distribution of lunar water.
- OSTI ID:
- 22016345
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 747, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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