Remote sensing and geologic studies of the Schiller-Schickard region of the Moon

Abstract

Near-infrared reflectance spectra, multspectral images, and photogeologic data for the Schiller-Schickard (SS) region were obtained and analyzed in order to determine the composition and origin of a variety of geologic units. Thes include light plains deposits, Orientale-related deposits, mare units, and dark-haloed impact craters (DHCs). Spectral data indicate that the pre-Orientale highland surface was dominated by noritic anorthosite. Near-IR spectra show that DHCs in the region have excavated ancient (>3.8 Ga) mare basalts from beneath highland-bearing material emplaced by the Orientale impact. Acient mare basalts were widespread in the SS region prior to the Orientale event, and their distribution appears to have been controlled by the presence of several old impact basins,including the Schiller-Zucchius basin and a basin previously unrecognized. Both Near-IR spectra and multispectral images indicate that light plains and other Orientale-related units in the SS region contain major amounts of local pre-Orientale mare basalt. The amountsof local material in these deposits approach, but seldom exceed, the maximum values predicted by the local mixing hypothesis of Oberbeck and co-workers.