GRL: Uranium mapped on Moon

[bystander]

Uranium mapped on Moon
Geophysical Research Letters 37, 20 May 2010, Editors' Highlight

Studies of abundances and distribution of radioactive elements can help answer questions about the formation and evolution of the Moon. Using data from instruments on board the Japanese Kaguya spacecraft (also known as SELENE), Yamashita et al. map the global distribution of uranium and the uranium-thorium ratio on the surface of the Moon. Uranium and thorium are radioactive elements that emit unique gamma ray signatures, which can be identified by Kaguya's gamma ray spectrometer.

They find significant variations in the uranium-thorium ratio in different areas on the far side of the Moon, which had not been reported in any previous observations. This new observation calls into question some models of lunar formation that assume the primary lunar crust is uniform. The study will contribute to improving scientists' understanding of the Moon's composition and evolution.

Uranium on the Moon: Global distribution and U/Th ratio

• Geophysical Research Letters 37, L10201,
  20 May 2010, doi: 10.1029/2010GL043061

See also: http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... 31&t=18188

[bystander]

New Moon Map Shows Uranium in Short Supply
Space.com | 22 June 2010

A new map of uranium on the moon has revealed the lunar surface to be a poor source of the radioactive stuff, but it could help solve mysteries as to how the moon formed.

This new moon uranium map dampens hopes of a nuclear power industry on the lunar surface, researchers said.

Proponents of lunar bases and future lunar colonies have long pointed to many of the moons minerals, along with water, as being useful to support such efforts.

"Forget things like uranium mines or nuclear reactors," said cosmochemist Robert Reedy, a member of the Kaguya science team and a senior scientist at the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute. "The concentrations are very far from being of commercial levels."