Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Lunar Prospector Mission

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Lunar Science

  • 130 Accesses

Introduction

Lunar Prospector is one of flagship missions in NASA “Discovery Program,” promoting human enthusiasm on researching on the Moon in a new era. After Clementine mission, Lunar Prospector was launched in 1998 to acquire low orbit investigations with higher resolution of the entire moon to testify the previous results and to improve our understanding of its origin, evolution and resources, including mapping the elements and composition on lunar surface, searching for evidence to presence of water ice deposits at poles, improving gravity and magnetic fields, and determining the frequency and location of gas release events.

Mission Information and Science Objectives

As a complement to NASA main “flagship” planetary missions, NASA’s “Discovery Program” gives scientists the opportunity to deepen the knowledge about our solar system. Founded in 1992, the program consists of a series of lower-cost, fewer sources missions originated from the vision of “faster, better, cheaper” by...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Andolz FJ et al (1998) Lunar Prospector mission handbook. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Co., Sunnyvale, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Binder AB (1998) Lunar Prospector: overview. Science 281:1475–1476

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Elphic RC et al (1998) Lunar Fe and Ti abundances: comparison of Lunar Prospector and Clementine data. Science 281:1493–1496

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman WC et al (1998a) Major compositional units of the Moon: Lunar Prospector thermal and fast neutrons. Science 281:1489–1493

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman WC et al (1998b) Fluxes of fast and epithermal neutrons from Lunar Prospector: evidence for water ice at the lunar poles. Science 281:1496–1500

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Halekas JS et al (2001) Mapping of crustal magnetic anomalies on the lunar near side by the Lunar Prospector electron reflectometer. J Geophys Res 106(E11):27841–27852

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Hood LL et al (2001) Initial mapping and interpretation of lunar crustal magnetic anomalies using Lunar Prospector magnetometer data. J Geophys Res 106(E11):27825–27839

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Konopliv AS et al (1998) Improved gravity field of the moon from Lunar Prospector. Science 281:1476–1480

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Konopliv AS et al (2001) Recent gravity models as a result of the Lunar Prospector mission. Icarus 150(1):1–18

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Korotev RL (1998) Concentrations of radioactive elements in lunar materials. J Geophy Res 103:1691–1701

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence DJ et al (1998) Global elemental maps of the moon: the Lunar Prospector gamma-ray spectrometer. Science 281:1484–1489

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence DJ et al (2004) Gamma-ray measurements from Lunar Prospector: time series data reduction for the gamma-ray spectrometer. J Geophys Res 109:E07S05

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence DJ et al (2015) Bulk hydrogen abundances in the lunar highlands: measurements from orbital neutron data. Icarus 255:127–134

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin RP et al (1998) Lunar surface magnetic fields and their interaction with the solar wind: results from Lunar Prospector. Science 281:1480–1484

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Litvak ML et al (2012) Global maps of lunar neutron fluxes from the LEND instrument. J Geophys Res 117:E00H22

    Google Scholar 

  • Maurice S et al (2004) Reduction of neutron data from Lunar Prospector. J Geophys Res 109:E07S04

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prettyman TH et al (2006) Elemental composition of the lunar surface: analysis of gamma ray spectroscopy data from Lunar Prospector. J Geophys Res 111:E12007

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon SC, Head JW (1979) J Geophys Res Solid Earth 84:1667–1682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamashita N et al (2010) Uranium on the Moon: global distribution and U/Th ratio. Geophys Res Lett 37(10):L10201

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China

    Hongwei Yang & Wenjin Zhao

Authors
  1. Hongwei Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wenjin Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hongwei Yang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Prairie View A&M University, Houston, TX, USA

    Brian Cudnik

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Yang, H., Zhao, W. (2018). Lunar Prospector Mission. In: Cudnik, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Lunar Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05546-6_104-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05546-6_104-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-05546-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05546-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation