Integrated Spectral and Compositional Analysis for the Lunar Tsiolkovskiy Crater

Abstract

Remote sensing observations represent the primary means in the production of geologic maps of planetary surfaces. However, they do not provide the same level of detail as Earth's geologic maps, which rely also on field observations and laboratory analyses. Color-derived basemaps can help to bridge this gap by highlighting peculiar surface and compositional properties. Here, we analyzed the spectral properties of the lunar Tsiolkovskiy crater through the definition of spectral units summarizing the information enclosed by a set of selected spectral parameters. We then performed a compositional analysis of the newly derived spectral units that helped us in discriminating the presence and relative abundance of the main mineralogical phases on the Moon. As a final step, we produced a geo-stratigraphic map of the Tsiolkovskiy crater integrating in a single mapping product both morphologic, stratigraphic and compositional information. The basaltic infilling of the crater is distinguished by three spectral units associated with distinct effusive events presenting a different composition. On the central peak, plagioclase and olivine suggest the presence of Mg-suite rocks from the lower crust. The continuous ejecta deposits are mostly characterized by impact melts and shocked materials rich in glass or agglutinates related to more mature terrains from which occasionally appear fresher anorthositic and gabbroic outcrops exposed by the inward sliding of the crater walls. Overall, the geo-stratigraphic map allows inferring compositional variations associated with the different morpho-stratigraphic units, which clarify and elaborate on the compositional heterogeneities within the lunar crust and the Tsiolkovskiy crater, and its geologic evolutionary history.