Title

Ejecta Mass Production And Velocities In Low-Energy Impacts Into Simulated Lunar Regolith

Abstract

Low-velocity impacts are common on regolith surfaces of planetary bodies. We have conducted a series of low-velocity impact experiments of various impactor types and energies into JSC-1 lunar regolith simulant in vacuo and in atmospheric pressure. Experiments done in the laboratory are limited to the velocities able to be achieved under 1 g of about 1 m/s. We found that ejecta mass production depends on the pressure of the environment, the energy of the impact, and the density of the target material. Ejecta mass velocity distributions fit a power-law or broken power-law distribution and, in some cases, exhibit a dependence on impact energy. Understanding the collisional outcomes of low-velocity impacts into regolith will help us understand the effect of manned and unmanned activity on the surface of the Moon and other regolith-covered bodies. © ASCE 2012.

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Publication Title

Earth and Space 2012 - Proceedings of the 13th ASCE Aerospace Division Conference and the 5th NASA/ASCE Workshop on Granular Materials in Space Exploration

Number of Pages

74-83

Document Type

Article; Proceedings Paper

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784412190.009

Socpus ID

84874267441 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84874267441

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS