Return to the Moon:New perspectives on lunar exploration

Lunar exploration is deemed crucial for uncovering the origins of the Earth-Moon system and is the first step for advancing humanity’s exploration of deep space.Over the past decade,the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program(CLEP),also known as the Chang’e(CE)Project,has achieved remarkable milestones.It has successfully developed and demonstrated the engineering capability required to reach and return from the lunar surface.Notably,the CE Project has made historic firsts with the landing and on-site exploration of the far side of the Moon,along with the collection of the youngest volcanic samples from the Procellarum KREEP Terrane.These achievements have significantly enhanced our understanding of lunar evolution.Building on this success,China has proposed an ambitious crewed lunar exploration strategy,aiming to return to the Moon for scientific exploration and utilization.This plan encompasses two primary phases:the first crewed lunar landing and exploration,followed by a thousand-kilometer scale scientific expedition to construct a geological cross-section across the lunar surface.Recognizing the limitations of current lunar exploration efforts and China’s engineering and technical capabilities,this paper explores the benefits of crewed lunar exploration while leveraging synergies with robotic exploration.The study refines fundamental lunar scientific questions that could lead to significant breakthroughs,considering the respective engineering and technological requirements.This research lays a crucial foundation for defining the objectives of future lunar exploration,emphasizing the importance of crewed missions and offering insights into potential advancements in lunar science.

Theoretical calculation of tidal Love numbers of the Moon with a new spectral element method

The tidal Love numbers of the Moon are a set of nondimensional parameters that describe the deformation responses of the Moon to the tidal forces of external celestial bodies.They play an important role in the theoretical calculation of the Moon’s tidal deformation and the inversion of its internal structure.In this study,we introduce the basic theory for the theoretical calculation of the tidal Love numbers and propose a new method of solving the tidal Love numbers:the spectral element method.Moreover,we explain the mathematical theory and advantages of this method.On the basis of this new method,using 10 published lunar internal structure reference models,the lunar surface and lunar internal tidal Love numbers were calculated,and the influence of different lunar models on the calculated Love numbers was analyzed.Results of the calculation showed that the difference in the second-degree lunar surface Love numbers among different lunar models was within 8.5%,the influence on the maximum vertical displacement on the lunar surface could reach±8.5 mm,and the influence on the maximum gravity change could reach±6μGal.Regarding the influence on the Love numbers inside the Moon,different lunar models had a greater impact on the Love numbers h_(2) and l_(2) than on k_(2) in the lower lunar mantle and core.

Understanding the Moon's internal structure through moonquake observations and remote sensing technologies

Explorations for the interior structure of the Moon mainly involve three technologies: the early gravitational observations via circumlunar satellites, the moonquake observations during the Apollo period, and the recent high-resolution remote sensing observations. Based on these technologies, we divided the development of the moon's interior structure into three stages. The first stage is the discovery of high-density anomalous masses(mascons) on the lunar surface with the low-order gravitational field models, which were obtained by observing perturbations of the early lunar orbital satellites. The second stage is the preliminary understanding of the layer structure with the help of moonquake observations during the Apollo period. The third stage is the deep understanding of the structure of the lunar crust, mantle, and core, with the use of high-resolution remote sensing data and the reassessment of moonquake data from the Apollo's mission. This paper gave detailed introduction and comments on different observation technologies, gathered data, and data processing techniques used at the three stages. In addition, this paper analyzed the current issues in the researches on the Moon's internal structure and discussed the prospects for future explorations.