{ "id": 4014, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4014/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "GRAIL Primary Mission Gravity Maps (AGU 2012)", "description": "The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission comprises a pair of satellites launched in September, 2011 and placed in orbit around the Moon in January, 2012. The two satellites, named Ebb and Flow, used radio signals to precisely measure their separation as they flew in formation, one following the other in the same nearly circular polar orbit. These measurements allowed mission scientists to build up an accurate and detailed gravity map of the Moon.If the Moon were a perfectly smooth sphere of uniform density, the gravity experienced by the spacecraft would be exactly the same everywhere. But like other rocky bodies in the solar system, including the Earth, the Moon has both a bumpy surface and a lumpy interior. As the spacecraft fly in their orbits, they experience slight variations in gravity caused by both of these irregularities, variations which show up as small changes in the separation of the two spacecraft.The free-air gravity map shows these variations directly. (Free-air is a historical term; there is, of course, no air on the Moon.) The Bouguer gravity map subtracts the effect of the bumpy surface to show the lumpiness underneath. The elevation maps from the laser altimeter on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) were used to create a model of what the gravity would be if the Moon were bumpy but not lumpy. This model was then subtracted from the free-air map to produce the Bouguer map. (Note: The Bouguer map shown here was filtered to emphasize smaller features; harmonic degrees 1 to 6 were excluded.)The crustal thickness map is inferred from the Bouguer map: If the density of the crust is assumed to be uniform, then the gravity anomalies visible in the Bouguer gravity map can be explained by variations in the thickness of the crust. Highs in gravity indicate places where the denser mantle is closer to the surface, and hence where the crust is thinner.While aiding navigation for future lunar missions, GRAIL's gravity measurements reveal information about the internal structure of the Moon, improving our understanding of the origin and development of not just the Moon, but also the Earth and the rest of the inner solar system. || ", "release_date": "2012-12-05T12:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2017-01-23T12:22:42-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 470169, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004000/a004014/topo_free.0200_preview.jpg", "filename": "topo_free.0200_preview.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Side-by-side rotating Moon globes showing LOLA elevation and GRAIL free-air gravity.This video is also available on our YouTube channel.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 }, "main_video": null, "main_credits": { "Visualizations by": [ { "name": "Ernie Wright", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 347415, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4014/#media_group_347415", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission comprises a pair of satellites launched in September, 2011 and placed in orbit around the Moon in January, 2012. The two satellites, named Ebb and Flow, used radio signals to precisely measure their separation as they flew in formation, one following the other in the same nearly circular polar orbit. These measurements allowed mission scientists to build up an accurate and detailed gravity map of the Moon.

If the Moon were a perfectly smooth sphere of uniform density, the gravity experienced by the spacecraft would be exactly the same everywhere. But like other rocky bodies in the solar system, including the Earth, the Moon has both a bumpy surface and a lumpy interior. As the spacecraft fly in their orbits, they experience slight variations in gravity caused by both of these irregularities, variations which show up as small changes in the separation of the two spacecraft.

The free-air gravity map shows these variations directly. (Free-air is a historical term; there is, of course, no air on the Moon.) The Bouguer gravity map subtracts the effect of the bumpy surface to show the lumpiness underneath. The elevation maps from the laser altimeter on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) were used to create a model of what the gravity would be if the Moon were bumpy but not lumpy. This model was then subtracted from the free-air map to produce the Bouguer map. (Note: The Bouguer map shown here was filtered to emphasize smaller features; harmonic degrees 1 to 6 were excluded.)

The crustal thickness map is inferred from the Bouguer map: If the density of the crust is assumed to be uniform, then the gravity anomalies visible in the Bouguer gravity map can be explained by variations in the thickness of the crust. Highs in gravity indicate places where the denser mantle is closer to the surface, and hence where the crust is thinner.

While aiding navigation for future lunar missions, GRAIL's gravity measurements reveal information about the internal structure of the Moon, improving our understanding of the origin and development of not just the Moon, but also the Earth and the rest of the inner solar system.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 347416, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4014/#media_group_347416", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Side-by-side rotating Moon globes showing LOLA elevation and GRAIL free-air gravity.
This video is also available on our YouTube channel.
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Zuber et al., Gravity field of the Moon from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), Science 10.1126/science.1231507 (Dec. 5, 2012)", "M. T. Zuber et al., Gravity field of the Moon from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), Science 10.1126/science.1231507 (Dec. 5, 2012)" ], "datasets": [ { "name": "Digital Elevation Map", "common_name": "DEM", "platform": "LRO", "sensor": "LOLA", "type": "Other", "organizations": [], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "", "date_range": null }, { "name": "Free-Air Gravity", "common_name": "GRAIL Free-Air Gravity", "platform": "GRAIL", "sensor": "Lunar Gravity Ranging System", "type": "Analysis", "organizations": [ "NASA" ], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "", "date_range": null }, { "name": "Bouguer Gravity", "common_name": "GRAIL Bouguer Gravity", "platform": "GRAIL", "sensor": "Lunar Gravity Ranging System", "type": "Analysis", "organizations": [ "NASA" ], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "", "date_range": null }, { "name": "Crustal Thickness", "common_name": "GRAIL Crustal Thickness", "platform": "GRAIL", "sensor": "Lunar Gravity Ranging System", "type": "Analysis", "organizations": [ "NASA" ], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "", "date_range": null } ], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Planets & Moons" ], "keywords": [ "Bouguer Gravity", "Crustal Thickness", "Free-Air Gravity", "GRAIL", "Gravity", "Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory", "HDTV", "Laser Altimeter", "LRO", "Lunar", "Lunar Elevation Map", "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter", "Lunar Topography", "Moon" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 4499, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4499/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Orientale Impact Basin for the Cover of Science", "description": "This print-resolution still image was created for the cover of the October 28, 2016 issue of Science. It features a free-air gravity map of the Orientale impact basin based on data returned by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission.Orientale is about 930 kilometers wide and lies on the western limb of the Moon as viewed from Earth. It's the Moon's youngest and best-preserved large impact basin, formed about 3.8 billion years ago at the end of the conjectured Late Heavy Bombardment. A paper in Science by Maria Zuber et al. uses the GRAIL data to shed new light on the basin's geology, while a second paper by Brandon Johnson et al. describes a computer simulation of the basin's formation constrained by that data.The shaded relief in this image is not a photograph. It's a very accurate computer rendering based on a digital model of the terrain. The model is derived from a digital elevation map called SLDEM2015. This map combines data from the laser altimeter (LOLA) on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) with stereo imagery from the Terrain Camera on the Japan Space Agency's SELENE spacecraft.The angle of the virtual Sun was chosen to throw Orientale's terrain into high relief — it's just after sunrise at Orientale, about a day past full Moon. The camera is on the western terminator (day/night line) looking north.The colorful part is the gravity anomaly based on measurements by GRAIL. Red indicates areas of higher gravity, or excess mass, and blue indicates lower gravity or areas of mass deficits. The GRAIL data reveals the structure of the basin beneath the surface. The red in the center of the basin, for example, shows that the crust is particularly thin there, and that denser mantle material is closer to the surface. || ", "release_date": "2016-10-21T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:48:10.312241-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 420055, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004400/a004499/orientale_preview.jpg", "filename": "orientale_preview.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The Orientale impact basin, combining shaded relief with free air gravity.", "width": 1024, "height": 768, "pixels": 786432 } }, { "id": 4436, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4436/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "GMM-3 Mars Gravity Map", "description": "Scientists have used small fluctuations in the orbits of three NASA spacecraft to map the gravity field of Mars.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || MarsGravityMapYouTube.png (1920x1080) [7.9 MB] || MarsGravityMapYouTube.jpg (1920x1080) [706.6 KB] || APPLE_TV_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [51.0 MB] || WEBM_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER.webm (960x540) [43.4 MB] || APPLE_TV_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_appletv_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [15.5 MB] || LARGE_MP4_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_large.mp4 (1920x1080) [109.0 MB] || NASA_TV_G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER.mpeg (1280x720) [362.0 MB] || G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_GoogOut.en_US.srt [1.8 KB] || G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER_GoogOut.en_US.vtt [1.9 KB] || G2016-003_Mars_Gravity_Map_MASTER.mov (1920x1080) [2.9 GB] || ", "release_date": "2016-03-21T12:30:00-04:00", "update_date": "2026-02-27T18:17:17-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 425906, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004400/a004436/SVS4436MarsGravityPreview_searchweb.png", "filename": "SVS4436MarsGravityPreview_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Print-res still of the Mars free-air gravity globe, centered at 90°W. Includes an alpha channel.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 4218, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4218/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Procellarum Rifts for the Cover of Nature", "description": "Oceanus Procellarum, or the Ocean of Storms, is the largest of the dark maria visible to the naked eye on the near side of the Moon. Its relatively flat surface of basaltic lava covers most of the northwest quadrant of the Moon's disk.The leading explanation of Procellarum's origin is that it is a large, ancient impact basin. But the authors of a paper in the October 2, 2014 edition of the journal Nature suggest instead that this region is the result of the way the lunar crust cooled billions of years ago.The red in the image shown here is part of a pattern of gravity anomalies revealed by data from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna and his coathors interpret this rectangular feature as a remnant of the plumbing system that moved magma to the surface of the Moon's near side, flooding low-lying areas with lava.The rectangular shape differs from the circular shape expected for an impact basin. It more closely resembles the pattern of cracks that form in materials subjected to thermal stress. In fact, the paper compares the shape of the Procellarum gravity anomaly with a feature spanning the south pole of Enceladus, the ice-covered moon of Saturn. || ", "release_date": "2014-10-01T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:50:29.953711-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 451025, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004200/a004218/nature_cover_print.jpg", "filename": "nature_cover_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Gravity anomalies (red) bordering the Procellarum region are overlaid on a global elevation map.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 4175, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4175/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "GRAIL Gravity Map for the Cover of Geophysical Research Letters", "description": "This print-resolution still image was created for the cover of the May 28, 2014 issue of Geophysical Research Letters. It features a free-air gravity map of the Moon's southern latitudes developed by S. Goossens et al. from data returned by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission.If the Moon were a perfectly smooth sphere of uniform density, the gravity map would be a single, featureless color, indicating that the force of gravity at a given elevation was the same everywhere. But like other rocky bodies in the solar system, including Earth, the Moon has both a bumpy surface and a lumpy interior. Spacecraft in orbit around the Moon experience slight variations in gravity caused by both of these irregularities.The free-air gravity map shows deviations from the mean gravity that a cueball Moon would have. The deviations are measured in milliGals, a unit of acceleration. On the map, purple is at the low end of the range, at around -400 mGals, and red is at the high end near +400 mGals. Yellow denotes the mean.The map shown here extends from the south pole of the Moon up to 50°S and reveals the gravity for that region in even finer detail than the global gravity maps published previously. The image illustrates the very good correlation between the gravity map and topographic features such as peaks and craters, as well as the mass concentration lying beneath the large Schrödinger basin in the center of the frame. The terrain in the image is based on Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) altimeter and camera data. || ", "release_date": "2014-06-17T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-01-06T00:06:42.447616-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 454775, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004100/a004175/grl_cover.jpg", "filename": "grl_cover.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A high-resolution free-air gravity map based on GRAIL data, overlaid on terrain based on LRO altimeter (LOLA) and camera (LROC) data. The view is south-up, with the south pole near the horizon in the upper left and the crescent Earth in the distance. The terminator crosses the eastern rim of the Schrödinger basin. Gravity is painted onto the areas that are in or near the night side. Red corresponds to mass excesses and blue to mass deficits.", "width": 750, "height": 900, "pixels": 675000 } }, { "id": 11186, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11186/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Final Orbit", "description": "On December 17, 2012, two NASA spacecraft slammed into a ridge near the moon's north pole. The collisions marked the planned end to NASA's GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) mission. Flying in formation, the twin, washing machine-sized probes, named Ebb and Flow, spent 351 days in lunar orbit mapping the moon's gravitational field. The maps revealed features of the lunar surface and interior in incredible detail, providing scientists with new information about the moon's craggy topography and lumpy crust. Using these maps, researchers will be able to peer back at the moon's early history and better understand its origin and development, along with that of Earth and the other rocky bodies in the solar system. The visualization shows the two spacecraft's final three orbits and their mission-ending crash. || ", "release_date": "2013-02-12T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:52:24.064707-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 468260, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011100/a011186/Image1_1024x576.jpg", "filename": "Image1_1024x576.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A mission to map the moon's hidden interior comes to a crashing end.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 4041, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4041/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "GRAIL Free-Air Gravity Map for the Cover of Science", "description": "These print-resolution stills were created for the cover of the February 8, 2013 issue of Science. They show the free-air gravity map developed by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission.If the Moon were a perfectly smooth sphere of uniform density, the gravity map would be a single, featureless color, indicating that the force of gravity at a given elevation was the same everywhere. But like other rocky bodies in the solar system, including Earth, the Moon has both a bumpy surface and a lumpy interior. Spacecraft in orbit around the Moon experience slight variations in gravity caused by both of these irregularities.The free-air gravity map shows deviations from the mean, the gravity that a cueball Moon would have. The deviations are measured in milliGals, a unit of acceleration. On the map, dark purple is at the low end of the range, at around -400 mGals, and red is at the high end near +400 mGals. Yellow denotes the mean.These views show a part of the Moon's surface that's never visible from Earth. They are centered on lunar coordinates 29°N 142°E. The large, multi-ringed impact feature near the center is Mare Moscoviense. The crater Mendeleev is south of this. The digital elevation model for the terrain is from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter laser altimeter (LOLA). Merely for plausibility, the sun angle and starry background are accurate for specific dates (December 21, 2012, 0:00 UT and January 8, 2013, 14:00 UT, respectively). || ", "release_date": "2013-02-08T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2025-01-05T22:20:25.616825-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 468452, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004000/a004041/grail_free_air1_web.jpg", "filename": "grail_free_air1_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The GRAIL free-air gravity map of the Moon, rendered on the Moon's surface as it floats in front of a starry backdrop (the constellation Hydra). About 75% of the visible disk is illuminated from the left, lighting longitudes roughly between 75° and 180° east. The view is centered on Mare Moscoviense, a feature on the far side.", "width": 320, "height": 320, "pixels": 102400 } }, { "id": 4023, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4023/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "GRAIL Impacts the Moon", "description": "The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission comprises a pair of satellites launched in September, 2011 and placed in orbit around the Moon in January, 2012. The two satellites, named Ebb and Flow, used radio signals to precisely measure their separation as they flew in formation, one following the other in the same nearly circular polar orbit. These measurements allowed mission scientists to build up an accurate and detailed gravity map of the Moon.GRAIL ends its successful mission by impacting the Moon on December 17, 2012 at approximately 5:27 p.m. EST (22:27 UT). The two spacecraft were placed in an orbit that takes them within a kilometer of the surface, so low that they will hit the side of an unnamed mountain that lies between Mouchez and Philolaus craters, near the north pole at 75°45'N, 26°11'W. Ebb strikes first, followed 24 seconds later by Flow.This animation shows the last three orbits of the two spacecraft, with views of the impact site. The impact occurs on the night side of a waxing crescent Moon, so the view shifts from a natural color Moon to a false-color elevation map. || ", "release_date": "2012-12-17T09:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2025-01-05T22:18:52.416447-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 469813, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004000/a004023/grail.0850.jpg", "filename": "grail.0850.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "GRAIL's final three orbits, with close-ups of the impact site.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }