The Keck Institute for Space Studies presents a short course on: Lunar Volatiles

Many of the processes that shaped the Earth and Moon over time are recorded on the lunar surface. This record includes not only rocky and metallic bodies that have impacted the moon, but also volatile substances such as water, which have accumulated at the cold lunar poles. Thus, studying lunar volatiles could help us understand our own planet's habitability.

In this one-day short course we will discuss the origin of lunar volatiles – by comets, the solar wind, and the Moon itself. We will also discuss transport across the lunar surface and cold trapping at the poles. We will explore what might be learned from the composition of lunar volatiles and how that composition might be measured. We will review results of thermal studies, laser reflectivity, neutron spectroscopy, radar observations, and observations from deliberate impacts into the lunar cold traps. Finally, the course will cover possible ways lunar volatiles might be measured and utilized for future space exploration.

An informal lunch will be provided to all short course attendees. There is no fee to attend, and no registration is required.