Are future Lunar landing sites safe?

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Studies of size-frequency distribution of rocks in high resolution LRO NAC images (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter NarrowAngleCamera) and comparisons with LOLA (Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter) data.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was launched to orbit the Moon in June 2009. The onboard Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) is imaging the surface at 50 cm/pix ground resolution. The laser altimeter LOLA scans the surface at a rate of 28Hz to obtain elevation profiles at a height resolution of 10 cm.
LRO is searching for landing sites for future Lunar missions. For safe landing on the Moon it is crucial to map the landing site areas precisely and ensure low probability of hitting rocks which could damage or shut down the lander.
LRO image shall be used to detect rocks and make statistical analysis of rock abundances. On the other hand the surface roughness can also be determined on laser footprint scales using the pulse width. Both data sets shall be studied and compared.

Tasks
- Literature research
- NAC image evaluation, rock statistics
- LOLA pulse width vs rock statistics
Science objectives
- Map landing sites on the Moon
- Comparison of image data vs laser data
- Is laser pulse width data reliable?
Requirements
- good English language skills (literature!)
- independent work
- interest in planetary science and geology
- knowledge of GMT is an asset