X-ray studies of the Moon

Abstract

X-ray remote sensing is an established technique for chemical mapping of atmosphere- less inner solar system bodies. Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS), on-board the first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, was flown with the objective of globally mapping the abundances of the major rock-forming elements Mg, Al, Si, Ca ,Ti and Fe with a spatial resolution of 25 km on the lunar surface. C1XS employed swept charge devices , a recently developed variant of x-ray CCDs as detectors. In this thesis, we present the calibration of the C1XS experiment, derive the detailed instrument response, analyze lunar x-ray fluorescence data and derive elemental abun- dance of the major elements Mg, Al, Si, Ca and Fe from a region in the central nearside highlands of the Moon. This work is the first ever estimation of absolute x-ray line flux from the lunar surface. Ca abundance from a highland region has also been directly estimated for the first time through remote sensing.