Peak-Ring Structure and Kinematics from a Multi-disciplinary Study of the Schrödinger Impact Basin

Abstract

The Schrödinger basin on the lunar farside is ~320 km in diameter and the best-preserved peak-ring basin of its size in the Earth–Moon system. Spectral and photogeologic analyses of data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument on the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) on the LRO spacecraft indicate the peak ring is composed of anorthositic, noritic, and troctolitic lithologies that were juxtaposed by several cross-cutting faults during peak ring formation. Hydrocode simulations indicate the lithologies were uplifted from depths up to 30 km, representing the crust of the lunar farside. Combining 2 geological and remote-sensing observations with numerical modeling, here we show a Displaced Structural Uplift model is best for peak rings, including that in the K-T Chicxulub impact crater on Earth. These results may help guide sample selection in lunar sample return missions that are being studied for the multi-agency International Space Exploration Coordination Group. Determining which lunar landing site may yield information about the lunar interior is very important with impact basins usually the best sites. Kring et al. provide a geological map of the Schrödinger basin on the moon via a multidisciplinary approach of remote sensing and numerical modeling.