SEISMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SHALLOW ( 0- 1 m) SOILS ON THE MOON AND MARS: ICE IN SOILS.

Abstract

We highlight a payload concept where piezo-sensors are used to characterize the shal-low subsurface (0-1 m) regolith of planetary bodies. Our group’s long-term mission is to design a seismolo-gy instrument as a promising low-cost, low-risk, high-reward payload candidate to permit non-invasive, high-resolution characterization of the regolith profile. Pie-zo-technology for testing and measurement is a mature and robust technology with wide use in the defense, aerospace and structural engineering fields. We present preliminary laboratory experimental results comparing analyses of seismic and GPR data collected in dry and frozen sand. Presented in 2019 at the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference in Houston, TX, USA.