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Science 13 February 2009:
Vol. 323. no. 5916, pp. 900 - 905
DOI: 10.1126/science.1168029
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Reports

Farside Gravity Field of the Moon from Four-Way Doppler Measurements of SELENE (Kaguya)

Noriyuki Namiki,1* Takahiro Iwata,2 Koji Matsumoto,3 Hideo Hanada,3 Hirotomo Noda,3 Sander Goossens,3 Mina Ogawa,4 Nobuyuki Kawano,3 Kazuyoshi Asari,3 Sei-itsu Tsuruta,3 Yoshiaki Ishihara,3 Qinghui Liu,3 Fuyuhiko Kikuchi,3 Toshiaki Ishikawa,3 Sho Sasaki,3 Chiaki Aoshima,5 Kosuke Kurosawa,6 Seiji Sugita,6 Tadashi Takano7

The farside gravity field of the Moon is improved from the tracking data of the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE) via a relay subsatellite. The new gravity field model reveals that the farside has negative anomaly rings unlike positive anomalies on the nearside. Several basins have large central gravity highs, likely due to super-isostatic, dynamic uplift of the mantle. Other basins with highs are associated with mare fill, implying basalt eruption facilitated by developed faults. Basin topography and mantle uplift on the farside are supported by a rigid lithosphere, whereas basins on the nearside deformed substantially with eruption. Variable styles of compensation on the near- and farsides suggest that reheating and weakening of the lithosphere on the nearside was more extensive than previously considered.

1 Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
2 Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 229-8510, Japan.
3 National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-12 Hoshigaoka, Mizusawa, Oshu, Iwate 023-0861, Japan.
4 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba Space Center, 2-1-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8505, Japan.
5 Fujitsu Ltd., 1-9-3 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba 261-8588, Japan.
6 University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kasiwa, Chiba 277-8561, Japan.
7 Nihon University, 7-24-1 Narashinodai, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8501, Japan.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: nori{at}geo.kyushu-u.ac.jp

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Lunar Global Shape and Polar Topography Derived from Kaguya-LALT Laser Altimetry.
H. Araki, S. Tazawa, H. Noda, Y. Ishihara, S. Goossens, S. Sasaki, N. Kawano, I. Kamiya, H. Otake, J. Oberst, et al. (2009)
Science 323, 897-900
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)