Lunar swirls

Swirls on the maria are characterized by strong albedo contrasts and complex, sinuous morphology, whereas those on highland terrain appear less prominent and exhibit simpler shapes, such as single loops or diffuse bright spots.

[5] The swirls represent exposed silicate materials whose albedos have been selectively preserved over time from the effects of space weathering via deflection of solar wind ion bombardment.

Electrostatic movement of dust lofted above the surface during terminator crossings could cause this material to preferentially accumulate and form the bright, looping swirl patterns.

[citation needed] Spectral observations by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument on Chandrayaan-1 confirmed that the lighter-colored regions are deficient in hydroxide, which also supports the hypothesis that solar wind is being deflected in the pale areas.

The proposed Bi-sat Observations of the Lunar Atmosphere above Swirls, or BOLAS mission would involve two small satellites connected with a 25 km (16 mi) space tether.

Funding for the Lunar Vertex mission, run by the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory, was selected for flight through the PRISM call for proposals.

[15] The rover, carrying a multispectral microscope, will determine coarseness and brightness of surface particles and transmit its data to the lander, which will communicate with Earth-based handlers.