Spectral reflectance studies on the orientale region of the Moon

The Orientale impact occurred in rugged highlands on the southwestern limb of the Moon and was the last of the major basin-forming events. Valuable insight concerning lateral and vertical changes in the composition of the lunar crust can be provided by studies of material exposed by lunar impact basins. These impacts have excavated material from a variety of depths and deposited this ejecta in a systematic manner. In order to investigate the composition of materials exposed on the interior of Orientale basin, near-infrared reflectance spectra were collected for units within the Cordillera ring.