A Complex Paleo‐Surface Revealed by the Yutu‐2 Rover at the Lunar Farside

Abstract

Abstract The observable lunar surface is represented by a ubiquitous layer of fine‐grained materials produced by billions of years of hypervelocity pounding of its crustal layer. The data from the Lunar Penetrating Radar onboard Chang'e‐4 (CE‐4) rover (Yutu‐2), which is exploring the Von Kármán Crater on the lunar farside, are helping to peel back the upper layer of finely comminuted materials, interpreted as a thick layer of ejecta from the neighboring Finsen crater, to reveal a complex paleo‐surface morphology. During the rover’s 560 m journey, from depths of 7–20 m, distinct variations in the returned signal characteristics reveal a possible 270 ± 10 m buried crater with an estimated age of less than 100 m.y. A smooth surface depression that lies to the southwest of the Yutu‐2 rover’s travel path might not be the remnant of a degraded crater but a related surface expression of the hidden structure.