A scientist from The University of Arizona in Tucson will use NASA's latest lunar mission to unearth clues about the mysterious origins of the moon. Lon Hood, a senior research scientist at The University of Arizona's lunar and planetary laboratory, thinks data from the Lunar Prospector satellite might indicate whether the moon originated from debris orbiting Earth or from material ejected in a colossal impact between Earth and some other massive body. As a member of the magnetometer team, Hood will examine data which should reveal the presence of a lunar metallic core. The existence of a lunar core could provide important evidence for one of the competing theories of the moon's origin.
Planetary scientists know that the moon has a magnetic surface and lacks a global magnetic field.
What they don't know is if that surface magnetism was caused by ancient impacts from asteroids or comets, or by a metallic core. Lunar Prospector's magnetometer instruments will map magnetic anomalies as they correlate with impact characteristics on nearly the entire lunar surface, and possibly show if impacts caused the magnetization. The instruments will also search for external magnetic fields near the moon caused by electric currents flowing through a metallic core. Some analyses have suggested that the moon may have had, at some point, a global magnetic field caused by a metallic core. If the moon does have a core, data from the magnetometer may provide information on its size and degree of electrical conductivity, and possibly explain the source of the surface magnetization.