Modeling Magnetic Induction from Transient Events Impinging upon a Conducting Moon

H. Fuqua[1], G. Delory[1], I. de Pater[2], R. Grimm[3]
[1]University of California - Berkeley, Space Sciences Lab, Berkeley, CA, USA
[2]University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
[3]Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO, USA
Published in 2013

Electromagnetic sounding measurements utilize magnetic induction to constrain the interior geophysical properties of planetary bodies. Under some conditions, the Earth’s moon can be approximated by the response of a conducting sphere in a vacuum. Transient magnetic fields originating from the sun can interact directly with the moon, producing eddy currents that generate an induced magnetic field. These induced fields can be modeled by assuming a conductivity structure for the lunar interior. COMSOL Multiphysics® is used to solve the full time domain response of models of the moon for varying electrical conductivities. Ultimately, we desire a full time-dependent solution for arbitrary signal inputs, such that the input and induced fields measured by the ongoing ARTEMIS lunar mission can be compared to our model.