P027-0008
Long-Range Active Time-Resolved Laser Spectroscopic Instruments for Lunar Exploration – Mineralogy, Volatiles and Chemistry of Lunar Regolith

Wednesday, 9 December 2020
Poster
John Nolan Porter, Univ. of Hawaii, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Honolulu, HI, United States, Shiv K Sharma, Univ Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, United States, Paul G Lucey, Hawaii Inst Geophys & Planetol, Honolulu, HI, United States, Tayro Acosta-Maeda, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, Honolulu, HI, United States, Miles Egan, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology,, Honolulu, HI, United States, Shahid Aslam, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, Dina M Bower, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, United States and Nicolas Gorius, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, United States
Abstract:
Landed missions at the lunar poles are likely to encounter unique mineralogies and chemistries unknown from Apollo Missions. For example, hematite was recently detected at high lunar latitudes, a discovery unanticipated owing to the very reducing nature of the lunar surface and interior. In regions of permanent shadow, a variety of volatile compounds are expected, including various ices and organics. This environment may also host alteration minerals as volatiles may react with silicates in small impacts or in ejecta blankets. Proper understanding of this unique environment will require a generalized mineralogical sensor that is capable of detecting a wide range of compounds. Active time-resolved (TR) spectroscopic techniques have advances in recent years, and has the advantage of being able to be operated at relatively long ranges (Raman detection has been reported at ranges over a km). A combined two components remote Raman and LIBS with low-power lasers has been reported at ranges over 100s of meters.

Time-resolved Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated for detecting various anhydrous and hydrated minerals, glasses of mineral compositions, organics, various-types of ices. In this presentation, we will present TR long-range Raman, luminescence and LIBS data on Lunar related materials, and potential configurations of the active time-resolved laser techniques, which could be used on various commercial lunar landers and “CubeRover”, which is a 2-kg class of lunar rover that seeks to standardize and democratize surface mobility and science, analogous to CubeSats for Lunar exploration.

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