
The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer: First results
We present X-ray fluorescence observations of the lunar surface, made by the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer during two solar flare events early in the mission (12th December 2008 and 10th January 2009). Modelling of the X-ray spectra with an abundance algorithm allows quantitative estimates of the MgO/SiO 2 and Al 2O 3/SiO 2 ratios to be made for the two regions, which are in mainly basaltic areas of the lunar nearside. One of these ground tracks includes the Apollo 14 landing site on the Fra Mauro Formation. Within the 1σ errors provided, the results are inside the range of basaltic samples from the Apollo and Luna collections. The Apollo 14 soil composition is in agreement with the results from the January flare at the 1σ uncertainty level. Discrepancies are observed between our results and compositions derived for the same areas by the Lunar Prospector gamma-ray spectrometer; some possible reasons for this are discussed. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- 5102 Atomic, molecular and optical physics
- 5101 Astronomical sciences
- 3706 Geophysics
- 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
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Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- 5102 Atomic, molecular and optical physics
- 5101 Astronomical sciences
- 3706 Geophysics
- 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences