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Instruments



 

Notional Firefly Aerospace lander and Honeybee Robotics rover design.

Lander Payload

The Lunar-VISE lander suite has two cameras that will capture the descent to the Moon’s surface and image the area surrounding the landing site, including where the rover will traverse. Designed after the BAE Systems GeoSpace camera, both the Descent Camera (LV-DC) and Context Camera (LV-CC) have the ability to take images at a rate of up to five frames per second. The Descent Camera will be mounted on the lander and pointed at the lunar surface during landing, while the Context Camera will be placed on the top of the lander to make use of its capability to capture 270° panoramic scans of the landing site.

GeoSpace camera similar to LV-DC and LV-CC

GeoSpace camera; LV-DC & LV-CC heritage. Image Credit: BAE Systems

 

Image Credit: BAE Systems

Lunar-VISE Descent Camera (LV-DC)

Key Measurements

  • Geology of the greater area surrounding the landing site
  • Regolith scoured from the surface and lofted during landing
  • Time for regolith to settle

Image Credit: BAE Systems

Lunar-VISE Context Camera (LV-CC)

Key Measurements

  • Geology of the landing site throughout the lunar day
  • Rover as it is traversing and conducting science investigation
  • Regolith as it is disturbed by the rover traverse

Rover Payload

Lunar-VISE Visible/Infrared Multiband Suite (LV-VIMS)

The LV-VIMS instrument suite, built by BAE Systems, has two multispectral cameras that are capable of imaging at visible (light reflected off the surface of the Moon) and thermal infrared (heat emitted from the surface of the Moon) wavelengths. Both cameras are mounted on a platform that rotates 180°, providing a panoramic view of the area of interest. Fine-scale details of the rocks and regolith can be detected at a spatial resolution of < 1 cm for both cameras.

LV-VIMS Turntable

LV-VIMS Turntable. Image Credit: BAE Systems

 

Image Credit: BAE Systems

Lunar-VISE VNIR Imaging Camera (LV-VIC)

Visible to near-infrared (VNIR) Spectral Imaging

Key Measurements

  • Composition of rocks and regolith making up the dome, particularly the abundance of Fe-bearing rocks and minerals
  • Rock and regolith texture and morphology

Orbital Mission Comparisons

  • Clementine Ultraviolet/Visible (UVVIS) camera
  • Kaguya (SELENE) Multiband Imager (MI)
  • Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Wide Angle Camera (LROC WAC)

Image Credit: BAE Systems

Lunar-VISE Compact Infrared Imaging System (LV-CIRiS)

Thermal Infrared Imaging Radiometer

Key Measurements

  • Composition of rocks and regolith making up the dome, particularly the silica (SiO2) abundance
  • Physical properties of the rocks and regolith including their thermal inertia and porosity

Orbital Mission Comparisons

  • Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment
  • Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System (L-CIRiS on CP-22 as part of Intuitive Machines’ IM-4 mission)

Lunar-VISE Gamma Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (LV-GRNS)

The LV-GRNS, built by Arizona State University and Radiation Monitoring Devices (RMD), has two sensor heads: the larger Gamma-Ray Sensor (GRS) and the smaller Neutron Sensor (NS). This novel two-detector system replaces the typical three minimum detector systems that are required to measure the same gamma-ray spectrum and two neutron energy ranges. The GRS is designed to maximize sensitivity to gamma rays while the NS primarily detects neutrons.

Model of LV-GRNS sensors
Completed flight hardware: GRNS enclosure. Image Credit: BAE Systems

 

Key Measurements

  • Composition of rocks and regolith making up the dome, particularly thorium (Th), major elements, and
    H2O/OH abundance

Orbital Mission Comparisons

  • Lunar Prospector
  • Kaguya Gamma Ray Spectrometer (KGRS)

Gamma rays and neutrons are emitted from the lunar surface when radioactive isotopes (atoms with excess energy in its nucleus) decay and galactic cosmic rays hit the Moon.

Measuring the energy of these emissions can tell scientists about the surface’s elemental abundances.

The LV-GRNS measurements will provide key evidence and distinctions between different hypotheses for how silicic volcanism occurred on the Moon.