Сарны хөрсөн дэх сейсмик долгионы хөдөлгөөнийг судалснаар хөлдсөн усны нөөцийг илрүүлэх шинэ арга зүйг эрдэмтэд бүтээжээ.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Мэрилэндийн их сургууль болон Хавайн их сургуулийн судлаачид хамтран сейсмик судалгааг ашиглан сарны гадаргын доорх мөсийг илрүүлэх боломжтойг Science Advances сэтгүүлд нийтэлжээ. Тэд сарны өндөр вакуум болон тэглээс доош хэмтэй нөхцөлийг дуурайдаг FROST хэмээх тусгай криоген вакуум камер ашиглан NASA-гийн Жонсоны нэрэмжит сансар судлалын төвийн бүтээсэн хиймэл сарны хөрсөнд туршилт хийсэн байна. Туршилтаар хуурай болон мөстэй хөрсөн дээгүүр сейсмик долгион тархахад ялгаатай шинж чанар илэрч байгааг тогтоожээ.
Энэхүү лаборатор хэмжилт дээр үндэслэн эрдэмтэд сарны гадаргын доорх 800 метрийн гүнийг загварчлах цогц арга бүтээжээ. Тус судалгаанд Matthew Siegler хиймэл дагуулын ажиглалтад тулгуурлан мөсний орших магадлалтай газруудын загварыг гаргасан бол Nicholas Schmerr газар доорх материалуудаар долгион хэрхэн тархах сейсмик симуляцийг боловсруулсан байна. Ингэснээр хөрсөн доорх янз бүрийн хэлбэрийн мөсний нөөц нь өөр өөр сейсмик ул мөр үлдээдэг болохыг тогтоожээ.
Судлаачид энэхүү шинэ загвараа NASA-гийн VIPER буюу сарны туйлын бүсийг судлах роверын мишний үеэр ашиглахаар төлөвлөж байна. Тус роверт суурилуулсан цохилуулагч өрөм нь дээж цуглуулах явцдаа сейсмик долгион үүсгэх бөгөөд навигацийн хурдатгал хэмжигч мэдрэгчүүд нь богино давтамжтай долгионыг хэмжих аж. Энэхүү арга нь эрдэмтэдэд сарны гадаргын ойролцоох шинж чанарыг анх удаа шууд судлах боломжийг олгох юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A team of scientists has developed a new method to search for frozen water beneath the Moon’s surface by studying how seismic waves move through lunar rock. Water is considered a key resource for sustained human activity on the Moon. While observations collected over recent years suggest that ice is present near the lunar poles, scientists are still working to determine where the largest underground deposits are located. Pinpointing those reserves remains a major objective for future robotic and crewed missions.
The new study, published in Science Advances, brings together researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Maryland, and the University of Hawaii. Their work demonstrates that seismology could become a valuable tool for detecting subsurface ice by identifying the different ways frozen and dry lunar materials respond to seismic waves.
A Chamber That Mimics the Moon
The project relied on a specialized cryogenic vacuum chamber known as the Frozen Regolith Observation and Sublimation Testbed (FROST). Designed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the instrument reproduces the Moon’s high-vacuum, subzero conditions and connects to the laboratory’s Advanced Light Source, where X-ray microtomography reveals microscopic changes inside rock samples.
For the first experiments conducted with FROST, Harrison Lisabeth and Nicholas Schmerr examined simulated lunar regolith produced by NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The material was engineered to closely resemble lunar soil, allowing the researchers to observe how its internal structure changes under lunar conditions depending on how much ice it contains.
The experiments revealed measurable differences between icy and dry regolith when exposed to seismic waves. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says these observations provide the rock physics needed to better understand how the Moon’s subsurface behaves during geological surveys.
“When NASA scientists want to perform geological surveys on the moon, they will need rock physics models to understand the fundamentals of how the subsurface behaves,” Lisabeth said. “But we didn’t have very good models until now because materials behave weirdly in the high vacuum and super cold environment of the moon.”
Three Models Combined Into One Framework
The laboratory measurements formed the basis of a broader modeling effort. Matthew Siegler contributed models derived from satellite observations to identify where large ice deposits are likely to exist and explain how they can remain stable over geological timescales despite the risk of vaporizing if temperatures become too high.
Nicholas Schmerr developed seismic simulations describing how waves propagate through different underground materials. Those simulations were then combined with the rock physics measurements produced by the FROST experiments.
The study published in Science Advances found that the integrated framework can simulate the Moon’s subsurface to depths of about 800 meters. The researchers report that different types of buried ice deposits generate distinct seismic signatures, providing testable hypotheses for future seismic prospecting on the Moon.
VIPER Could Gather First Real-World Data
The team plans to apply the new models during NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The rover will explore the Moon’s south polar region using several instruments designed to investigate the presence of water ice.
One of those instruments is a percussive drill that produces seismic waves while collecting samples. VIPER also carries navigation accelerometers that can operate as seismic sensors, measuring how short-frequency waves travel beneath the surface.
“Our model provides testable hypotheses to design seismic experiments looking for water on the Moon,” explained Schmerr. “We plan to use it when VIPER is delivered to the moon in the near future.”
Siegler added that the mission has another advantage. He explained that while VIPER’s existing instruments can detect ice within roughly the upper meter of lunar soil, the seismic waves generated during drilling “might let us detect ice much deeper.” The release noted that these measurements could offer scientists their first direct view of the Moon’s near-surface properties using this approach.
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