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DN-010 L: South polar lunar regolith elemental and mineral composition

Site-by-site, depth-resolved mineral and elemental make-up of South Pole regolith and rocks, to 0.1 wt%, for ISRU, geotechnical assessment and contamination control. Today's in-situ data is Apollo samples and meteorites, "predominantly mare terrain and equatorial", plus km-scale orbital spectra. It is named in the Moon Base Users Guide (near-term), under four challenges (Data gaps spreadsheet, DN-010 L; Users Guide, pp. 12–13).

Quotations below are from row DN-010 L of the data gaps spreadsheet unless marked otherwise. ADD Rev C's Appendix E prints the same record as a table, and it matches the row field for field (ADD Rev C, p. 274).

Description

"Characterize site-specific and depth-resolved mineralogical and elemental composition of lunar south pole regolith and rocks to support ISRU, geotechnical assessment and contamination mitigation. A series of in situ measurements across the exploration area should be taken to support lunar environment characterization and resource exploration."

Need driver and data type

  • Need driver: Lunar Surface Natural Environment Characterization
  • Data type: In Situ Measurement/Sample Return

Target measurement parameters

"Elemental and mineral composition of bulk rocks and mineral grains where possible, as well as relative abundances of regolith constituent components (to resolution of 0.1 wt%) over various locations and with depth."

Current state of data

"Apollo-era returned samples and lunar meteorites are the primary in-situ data set (predominantly mare terrain and equatorial), with orbital spectral data (e.g., Clementine, LRO, Lunar Prospector, Kaguya, Chandrayaan-1) at a km-scale resolution."

Impact if data is unavailable

"Limited in situ mineralogical composition data exists for the lunar south pole. While mineralogy is not expected to greatly vary from orbital observations and in situ Apollo samples, variation may exist that could increase uncertainty in the landing site environment. Aspects tied to mineral hardness/density could impact terrain stability, composition could impact contamination/science integrity, and metal content may impact electrostatic interactions. Further, without mineralogical surveying, effective ISRU for critical minerals/metals would be limited. Inability to accurately anticipate or predict chemical reactions between elements or compounds in the lunar regolith and surfaces or environments."

Benefits if data is available

"A better understanding of the typical lunar surface composition at the south pole would enable tighter constraints on regolith properties and critical mineral abundances. Having a standardized dataset of regolith composition could also help minimize the effect of contamination on science sites. Will inform material selection to prevent or mitigate chemical reactivity effects between regolith and surface assets."

Traceability

Priority

None. The spreadsheet has no priority field, and the Users Guide calls the data-gap list "not comprehensive or prioritized" (Users Guide, p. 11).

Moon Base relevance

The Users Guide names DN-010 L for four challenges (Users Guide, pp. 12–13):

  • "Operating on the Lunar Surface for Long Durations" (headline challenge, p. 12). Its knowledge challenge has two sentences: "Characterize the lunar surface environment to predict performance impacts and risks associated with long duration surface operations." and "Investigate dust mechanics, regolith geotechnical properties, and radiation/charged particle fluctuations, seasonal patterns, and scattering." The guide lists DN-008 L to DN-013 L, DN-015 L, DN-016 L and DN-019 L under both sentences together and does not say which sentence each serves. The challenge's technology half cites tech gaps #0101, #0201, #0301, #0801 and #0804.
  • "Securing sites" (p. 12): "Identifying, selecting, and landing at individual sites requires more data about the lunar surface, including regolith properties, high-resolution imagery, mapping, and resource locations." Also cited: DN-001 L to DN-009 L, DN-013 L and DN-014 L. No tech gap.
  • "Manipulating regolith" (p. 13): "Manipulating lunar regolith at scale for excavation, compaction, and site preparation requires in depth understanding of regolith properties and large scale excavation and construction." Also cited: data gaps DN-008 L, DN-009 L and DN-019 L; tech gaps #0505 and #0605.
  • "Pressurized mating" (p. 13): "Mating pressurized systems on the lunar surface requires dust tolerant systems, which rely on detailed knowledge of lunar regolith and the surface environment." Also cited: data gaps DN-008 L, DN-009 L and DN-019 L; tech gap #0807.

The Users Guide does not cite DN-010 L under "ISRU systems", although the spreadsheet says it supports ISRU. The guide ties its challenges to "near-term Moon Base development efforts": missions in phase one "offer opportunities to collect data and mature technologies to enable essential phase two and phase three capabilities" (p. 11). See Technology and knowledge challenges.

Sources

Data gaps spreadsheet, DN-010 L · Users Guide, pp. 11–13 · 2025 Architecture Update, p. 14 · ADD Rev C, pp. 202, 274