Lunar Brightness Temperature Model Based on the Microwave Radiometer Data of Chang’e-2

Abstract

The brightness temperature (TB) data of the Moon acquired by the microwave radiometer (MRM) on-board the Chinese Chang'e-2 (CE-2) lunar probe are valuable and comprehensive data, which can be helpful in studying the physical properties of the lunar regolith, such as thickness, physical temperature, and dielectric constant. To construct the accurate and high-resolution lunar TB model with the TB data obtained by the MRM on-board CE-2, 2401 tracks of the original TB data are quantized by using the hour angle processing, and the hierarchical MK splines function (HMKSF) method is presented, which uses a hierarchy of coarse-to-fine control lattices to generate a sequence of TB model functions. The TB model constructor is the sum of the TB model functions derived at each level of the hierarchy. In addition, the lunar TB models with a resolution of 0.5°×0.5° in all four frequency channels are constructed for both the daytime and the nighttime. The obtained models show rich information, e.g., the global distribution of TB over the lunar surface, the effect of frequency on the TB model.