ИСТИНА

The South polar region of the Moon is considered by the Roscosmos corporation as the primary target for the Russian lunar program. Great interest in this region is linked with the enhanced concentration of hydrogen in the regolith and various geological processes associated with the possible presence of ground ice. The South Pole - Aitken basin (SPA), the largest and oldest known lunar impact basin, formed the relief and geological structure in the studied region. The SPA basin remnants have a high scientific potential, as the material of the ancient lunar crust, and possibly mantle, which is accessible for analysis in the South polar region. Ejecta of the larger craters that are younger than SPA are also of extreme interest because they can contain oldest material, excavated from beneath of the SPA ejecta. On the Moon, the primary agent of the regolith re-distribution is impact process, which formed zones of contiguous ejecta, satellite and secondary craters, and rays around the primary craters. Here we present the results of the model estimates of the ejecta thickness for the Nectarian, Imbrian, Eratosthenian, and Copernican craters that occur in a region extending from 90 ̊ to 70 ̊ S. Our estimates are based on the new geological map of the southern polar region of the Moon compiled at 1:300,000 scale [1]. In our study, we did not consider the Pre-Nectarian craters because of their poor preservation state and overlapping of their ejecta by younger deposits.