¹M. Naito, ^1,2N. Hasebe, ²H. Nagaoka, ²E. Shibamura, ³M. Ohtake, ⁴K.J. Kim, ⁵C. Wöhler, ⁶A.A. Berezhnoy
Icarus (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2017.12.005]
¹School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Japan
²Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Japan
³Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Japan
⁴Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, South Korea
⁵Image Analysis Group, TU Dortmund University, Germany
⁶Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Moscow State University, Russia
Copyright Elsevier

In this study we describe the distribution of iron on the Moon as obtained by the Kaguya high energy resolution gamma-ray spectrometer (KGRS). We achieved for the first time the identification of iron based on the fast neutron flux obtained by the KGRS. The iron distribution obtained by KGRS is compared to that of the Lunar Prospector Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (LP GRS), showing that the FeO distributions observed by KGRS and LP GRS, in general, are in good agreement. Furthermore, we compare the iron content data obtained by KGRS and LP GRS to spectral reflectance measurements of the Clementine, Kaguya and Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft as well as those inferred from returned samples. We found differences in FeO concentration and distribution in areas of moderate abundance (6-15 wt%) of the South Pole-Aitken basin, Mare Orientale, and around the crater Tycho crater. It implies that high concentrations of FeO at Mare Ingenii in the South Pole-Aitken basin and Mare Orientale are due to the presence of mare basalts, whereas the enriched FeO content in the central depression of the South Pole-Aitken basin and the Tycho crater indicates the presence of mafic materials such as impact melt breccia.