Strain/Stress Evaluation of Dorsa Geikie using Chandrayaan-2 Terrain Mapping Camera-2 and Other Data

The high-resolution panchromatic stereo camera Terrain Mapping Camera-2 (TMC-2) on-board the Indian Chandrayaan-2 mission sends images of the lunar surface at 5m resolution with a low to high sun-angle from an altitude of 100km. These images help identify subtle topographic variations and enable mapping of low-elevation landforms, one of which is a prominent ~220km long wrinkle ridge called the Dorsa Geikie (DG) lying within Mare Fecunditatis. The favourable resolutionof TMC-2 images and the digital elevation models provide opportunities for a detailed structural study of the DG and to reveal crustal shortening, cumulative contractional strain andpalaeostress regime responsible for thrust faulting for the first time.The time of deformation and formation of dorsa is also estimated for a holistic spatio-temporal understanding of deformation. This study presents initial analysis of the data received from TMC-2, and the accuracy of the results are likely to improve as the ingredients get amended and evolved in future