This is a featured event of the BAE Systems Space Series at Chautauqua
Presented in partnership with:
Door time: 7:00
Show time: 7:30
The ground-breaking DIMPLE (Dating an Irregular Mare Patch with a Lunar Explorer) experiment will for the first time send a rock-dating instrument to resolve a scientific mystery on the Moon. The objective of DIMPLE is to date rocks from within the volcanic caldera of a shield volcano called Ina. The rough interior of Ina is remarkable for its scarcity of craters from meteoroid impacts. Taken at face value, the relatively low density of craters implies a surface age of 33 ± 2 million years. If the Moon was volcanically active this recently, it would require a profound reassessment of our understanding of how small planets like the Moon retain heat over the eons.
Dr. Scott Anderson:
Dr. F. Scott Anderson is the PI of DIMPLE. He has been a strong proponent of the decade-long effort to make in-situ chronology measurements a reality. He has developed three prototype dating instruments, and is an expert in laser processes, laser development, and resonance ionization, in addition to having built multiple mass spectrometers. His research portfolio includes science investigations in the areas of geochronology, geophysical/tectonic formation of Valles Marineris (Mars), heat flow and gravity studies of Venus, and the discovery of chlorides on Mars via thermal infrared spectroscopy. He has worked with data from Mars missions and has won awards for excellence from NASA.
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