EPSC Abstracts
Vol. 18, EPSC-DPS2025-901, 2025, updated on 09 Jul 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc-dps2025-901
EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Ion precipitation of the lunar surface and its impact on the lunar environment
Paul S. Szabo1, Andrew R. Poppe1, Ivana Thomas1,2, Linus Upson1, Andreas Mutzke3, Herbert Biber4, Shahab Fatemi5, Noah Jäggi6, Audrey Vorburger7, André Galli7, Peter Wurz7, and Friedrich Aumayr4
Paul S. Szabo et al.
  • 1Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
  • 2California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
  • 3Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), Greifswald, Germany
  • 4Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), Vienna, Austria
  • 5Department of Physics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
  • 6Laboratory for Astrophysics and Surface Physics (LASP), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
  • 7Space Research and Planetary Sciences, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Impacts of solar wind (SW) ions on the Moon contribute to surface hydration, alteration of the lunar surface via space weathering and the emission of atoms into the exosphere via sputtering [1]. Furthermore, scattering of SW protons as H+, H0 (energetic neutral atoms, ENAs) and recently as H- have allowed direct in-situ observations of ion impacts on the surface [2-4]. For example, measurements of scattered particle allow quantifying the shielding efficiency in magnetic anomalies and even the characterization of regolith properties [5,6].  

Here we focus on giving an overview of recent work on observations and modeling of ion-surface  interaction. In particular, we discuss how ENA emission from H scattering is connected to properties of the solar wind and the lunar surface [6-8]. We will further highlight how these studies allow us to better constrain sputtering of the surface by ion impacts, as well as new modeling studies that help us better describe the sputtering process [9,10].

 

References

[1] P. Wurz, et al., Space Science Reviews 218.3 (2022): 10.

[2] M. Wieser, et al., Planetary and Space Science 57.14-15 (2009), 2132.

[3] D. J. McComas, et al., Geophysical Research Letters 36.12 (2009).

[4] C. Lue, et al., Geophysical Research Letters 38.3 (2011).

[5] A. Vorburger, et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 117.A7 (2012).

[6] P. S. Szabo, et al., Geophysical Research Letters 49.21 (2022), e2022GL101232.

[7] P. S. Szabo, et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 128.9 (2023), e2023JE007911.

[8] S. Verkercke, et al., The Planetary Science Journal 4.10 (2023), 197.

[9] N. Jäggi, et al., The Planetary Science Journal 4.5 (2023), 86.

[10] L. Morrissey, et al., The Planetary Science Journal 5.12 (2024), 272.

How to cite: Szabo, P. S., Poppe, A. R., Thomas, I., Upson, L., Mutzke, A., Biber, H., Fatemi, S., Jäggi, N., Vorburger, A., Galli, A., Wurz, P., and Aumayr, F.: Ion precipitation of the lunar surface and its impact on the lunar environment, EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2025, Helsinki, Finland, 7–12 Sep 2025, EPSC-DPS2025-901, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc-dps2025-901, 2025.