Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University have shown through simulations that a lightweight X-ray telescope could produce the first complete chemical map of the lunar surface.
A team led by Airi Toida and Professor Yuichiro Ezoe developed the concept for a compact telescope weighing less than ten kilograms. The instrument was originally designed for Earth's magnetosphere and has been tested in harsh radiation conditions. Simulations indicate that one such telescope on a lunar orbiting satellite could map oxygen, iron, magnesium, aluminum and silicon across the entire Moon in about two years. A five by five array of the detectors could complete the task in one year and also detect sodium at higher resolution. The work, published in Earth, Planets and Space, relies on observations during solar flares when X-ray illumination is strongest. It addresses gaps left by earlier partial maps from the Apollo and Chandrayaan missions. The research received support from JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 21H04972.