Lunar surface magnetometers

Abstract

Magnetometers have been placed on the moon by astronauts of the Apollo 12, 14, 15, and 16 missions. These instruments have measured permanent fields due to fossil magnetic material in the lunar crust and transient fields due to electrical eddy currents generated in the lunar interior. A stationary magnetometer which transmits data continuously was flown on each of the Apollo 12, 15, and 16 missions as part of a group of five geophysical instruments emplaced on the lunar surface by the astronauts. A portable magnetometer which was used to make discrete measurements at different points of the astronauts lunar traverse was flown on the Apollo 14 and 16 missions. All instruments measured magnetic fields intrinsic to the moon. In this paper we will discuss the properties of both the stationary and portable magnetometers used in the Apollo program to measure static and dynamic fields on the lunar surface.