Image Details
Caption: Figure 19.
Photographs showing the effects of various surface disturbances caused by humans traversing the surface. (a) AS15-88-11927 shows local disturbances caused by astronaut boot prints. The increase in local roughness is likely analogous to the low-reflectance changes seen around newly formed impact craters. (b) AS14-67-09368 shows high-reflectance tracks caused by the local compaction of the surface from the wheels of the Modular Equipment Transporter (MET), or “rickshaw.” This compaction caused the destruction of the fairy castle structure and increased reflectance. Additionally, at the large phase angles, the surrounding area shows darkening due to the presence of small shadows introduced from fine-scale surface texture.
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.