Research

Using a spectral function of the gravity and topography of the Moon, we constrain the global distribution of mare material. This approach is robust to mare that has been previously buried by ejecta material because it relies on identifying the higher density signal of the mare, rather than using a visual inspection of material exposed at the surface. We find extensive hidden mare.

We infer the ice accumulation and sublimation rates that fit the migration path of polar spiral troughs of Mars, as recorded in the subsurface ice. The accumulation rates consistent with the data, for two adjacent troughs, is lower than previously proposed.

We find that the gravity signal of impact craters on the Moon points towards the existence of a porosity boundary at 3-5 km depth. This is most likely the boundary between the large-scale basin ejecta layer and the layer of material uplifted by crater collapse, layers of the lunar megaregolith.

We developed a gravity inversion method called THeBOOGIe to infer 3-D density anomalies on spherical bodies. This method is able to use flexible priors and provides uncertainty information on the output density model. We test the method with lunar-like synthetic data and results show that it has the potential to detect density anomalies in the lunar mantle.