Effects of Lunar Surface Temperature and Topography on Outpost Location Selection

With unique geographical characteristics and potential water ice resources,the lunar polar regions become the preferred areas for future lunar scientific exploration and base construction.However,at the lunar polar regions, differences in solar illumination conditions,limits for the direct earth communication,large variation range of lunar surface temperature and steep terrains,pose great challenges to the site selection research.It is of great significance to quantitatively study the temperature and topography distribution of the lunar polar regions.A method for evaluating the relative habitable zone on the moon was developed by using the observations of the laser altimeter(LOLA)and radiometer(Diviner)on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter(LRO).Typical relative habitable zones were selected,taking the lunar south pole as the target.And the characteristics of the diurnal and seasonal variations of the surface temperature of these zones were analyzed.Moreover,the distributions of terrain slope,surface roughness and terrain height in these regions were compared.Region A(around Scott M)is located on the relative highlands of the lunar south pole(about 3 to 7km)with moderate slope(median value of 8 degrees)and surface roughness(less than 2m).Region B(near de Gerlache)is the closest to the center of the south pole,with sun visibility up to 0.8,relative steep slope(median value of 12.4 degrees)and moderate surface roughness(less than 2 m).Region C(around Amundsen)has the lowest terrain(about - 1.8 to - 0.5km),the minimum sun visibility(less than 0.6)and earth visibility(less than 0.5),and the gentlest topographic slope(median value of 5.4 degrees),whereas approximate 26% areas possessed a surface roughness greater than 3 m.In summer night,the temperatures of partial areas in region B and region A can be higher than 0degree celsius and - 20degree celsius, respectively,indicating relatively ideal environment for outpost sites in future lunar missions.