Mare Vaporum Ferrous Oxide Mapping Using Chandrayaan-1 M3 Datasets

The Moon and the Earth share the same surface and core features but experience different geomorphic and physical conditions, which can further lead to differences in mineralogical composition. Thus, identification and understanding of these minerals can provide insight into the evolution of the lunar crust and mantle. Ferrous Oxide (FeO) is one of the many abundant minerals that can be utilized to retrieve information on lunar regolith. In this study, Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) hyperspectral datasets were used to estimate FeO wt% of the Mare Vaporum on the Moon. The Apollo 17 landing site insitu values of FeO were utilized to formulate a Linear data fitting equation which generated a FeO wt% with a correlation of 0.95, with a Clementine Standardized map with a correlation of 0.98 when compared with Apollo 17 and 16 landing site in-situ measurements.