Ingenii Basin: characterization and feasibility as a lunar landing site

The renewed interest in the exploration of the Moon, both human and robotic, and the technological advancement made it more feasible to look at sites previously underrated for the paucity of high-resolution data available (e.g. polar regions) and the challenges in communication (e.g. far side), accessibility and trafficability (e.g. underground cave systems).

Being characterized by a smooth basaltic infilling, optimal for landing and roving, the far side Ingenii basin (20.4°S, 129.1°E) represents a high-profile objective for the unique presence of both extensive and complex swirls, namely features related to crustal magnetic anomalies [1,2,3], and a pit with overhanging roof possibly giving access to a lava tube [e.g. 4]. In this study, we characterized the area surrounding the Mare Ingenii Pit (MIP) and performed a feasibility study for a robotic mission with a rover-hopper [5] by considering traverses of varying lengths, all providing for a hopping phase inside the pit, and simulating the environmental conditions along their paths.

More in detail, we used the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) mosaic (up to 100 m/px) [6] for a contextual interpretation of the area together with LRO Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) images (up to 0.5 m/px) [6] for a detailed characterization of the area surrounding the MIP. The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) and Kaguya Terrain Camera merged Digital Elevation Model (DEM) provide the most up-to-date surface height and slope information (vertical accuracy of 3-4 m) [7] and a NAC-derived Digital Terrain Model (DTM) provides the best available elevation data for the area surrounding the pit.

We quantitatively assessed the topographical characteristics of the surface within a reasonable distance from the MIP for the positioning of landing ellipses (1500 and 500 m in diameter), and automatically detected boulders >1 m using a machine learning algorithm and NAC imagery [8]. We then planned short (up to 5 km), intermediate-length (up to 10 km) and long (up to 15 km) traverses and evaluated slope and elevation variations along the paths taking into account a typical slope tolerance of maximum 15°. Finally, we used an interactive tool provided by LROC Quickmap [9] to perform simulations of the environmental conditions along each traverse path and identify a mission operating window based on illumination and temperature conditions over a lunar day.

A lunar landing candidate site located on the far side sure entails a major effort in communicating with Earth, however, the scientific relevance and peculiarity of Ingenii basin and its optimal topographical characteristics make it a site to be considered for future exploration.

 

References

[1] Pinet et al. (2000) JGR, 105, 9457-9475. 

[2] Hood et al. (2001) JGR, 106, 27825-27839.

[3] Garrick-Bethell et al. (2011) Icarus, 212, 408-492.

[4] Miaja et al. (2022) Acta Astronautica, 192, 30-46.

[5] Rimani et al. (2023) Aerospace, 10(8), 669.

[6] Robinson et al. (2010) Space Sci. Rev., 150, 81–124.

[7] Barker et al. (2016) Icarus, 273, 346-355.

[8] Prieur et al. (2023) JGR, 128, e2023JE008013.

[9] https://quickmap.lroc.asu.edu/