The influence of a lunar lander on the temperature of the surrounding surface

Kurzfassung

With the possible return of mankind to the Moon comes the need for detailed analyses of ambient conditions in possible landing regions. Several missions (e.g. IM-2, Blue Ghost M1) have already landed in the Moon’s south pole region to study the environmental conditions, and more are planned. Of particular interest are temperature measurements as they can be used to draw conclusions about the material properties of the regolith such as the surface roughness or the thermal inertia. However, any lander affects the temperature of the ground around it. This effect is particularly strong in the polar regions. Here, the ground is hit by sunlight at a large angle, while for the sides of the lander the incidence angle can be very small. Consequently, a relatively large amount of light can be scattered from the lander to the ground increasing the temperature there. Furthermore, the lander may heat up more strongly, which (depending on the emissivity of the lander's surface) could lead to comparatively large thermal emissions. This study investigates the temperature change caused by a lander located at a latitude of -84.7715° and a longitude of 29.21994°, close to the landing site of Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission.