Browsing by Author "Underwood, Craig"
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Item Chemical Lidar Science Payload for the Lunar Volatile and Mineralogy Mapping Orbiter(49th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2019-07-07) Kruzelecky, Roman; Murzionak, Piotr; Lavoie, Jonathan; Sinclair, Ian; Schinn, Gregory; Gao, Yang; Underwood, Craig; Cloutis, Edward; Bridges, Christopher; Armellin, Roberto; Luccafabris, Andrea; Daly, Mike; St-Amour, Amélie; de Lafontaine, Jean; Leijtens, JohanUnderstanding the lunar near-surface distribution of in-situ resources, such as ilmenite (FeTiO3), and volatiles, such as water/ice, is vital to future sustained manned bases. However, there is a large uncertainty in the distribution and quantity of the lunar resources. Moreover, planned future lunar orbiter missions have relatively limited spatial resolution, in the km range, for volatile mappings relative to lander and rover requirements. The VMMO Volatile and Mineralogy Mapping Orbiter is a low-cost 12U Cubesat that is being designed for a potential flight opportunity with the SSTL Lunar Communications Pathfinder Orbiter. VMMO would be injected into a nominal high-eccentricity lunar orbit. It would then use its on-board propulsion to attain the desired operating orbit. VMMO comprises the LVMM Lunar Volatile and Mineralogy Mapper science payload, the CLAIRE Compact LunAr Ionising Radiation Environment monitor with a COTS electronics testbed, and the supporting 12U Cubesat bus, which has dual ion and cold-gas propulsion, direct to Earth S-band and optical communications, on board data processing and a suite of sensors for semi-autonomous navigation. The compact LVMM is a multi-wavelength Chemical Lidar (<6.1 kg) using single-mode (SM) fiber lasers emitting at 532nm, 1064nm and 1560nm, for stand-off mapping of the lunar water/ice distribution using active illumination, with a focus on selected permanently-shadowed craters in the lunar south pole. This combination of spectral channels can provide very sensitive discrimination of water/ice in various Mare and Highland regolith based on relevant bread-board validations. The use of the SM fiber lasers enables a relatively high spatial resolution in the 10m range. LVMM can also be used in a passive multispectral mode to map the lunar ilmenite in-situ resource distribution during the lunar day using the characteristic surface-reflected solar illumination. This paper discusses the VMMO threshold and augmented science definitions, and the resultant mission architecture and data products.Item Lunar Dust In-situ Experiment and Operational Considerations for the Potential CABLE Canadian American British Lunar Explorer(45th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2015-07-12) Kruzelecky, Roman V.; Latendresse, Vincent; Aïssa, Brahim; Lavoie, Jonathan; Nakhaei, Alireza; Jamroz, Wes; Cloutis, Edward; Lappas, Vaios; Underwood, Craig; Gao, Yang; Sweeting, Martin; Sorensen, Trevor; Mouginis-Mark, PeteThe Canadian American British Lunar Explorer (CABLE) is a low-cost lunar lander/microRover mission concept based on international collaboration of niche technologies. CABLE includes collaborations with the University of Surrey/Surrey Space Centre on the soft lander, planetary surface autonomy and communications technologies and the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory on the required Earth-Moon transfer stage and mission operations based on their COSMOS mission operations and flight system software, as well as the prior experience gained in the Clementine lunar mission. CABLE also leverages relevant Canadian technologies in high-performance microRovers, robotics and optical sensors to extend the achievable planetary exploration and science per unit payload mass. The baseline science mission is to investigate the near-surface characteristics of a near-side region of the Moon, the Aristarchus Plateau, that has never been explored in-situ to address for the first time a fundamental lunar geologic process, namely large-scale explosive volcanism that can provide information on the origins of the Moon and the evolution of the Earth-Moon system. The mission drivers include minimizing the mission risks and costs while providing innovative relevant science and data on the lunar near-surface environment and operations. This mission will address key international interests, including mapping lunar surface geology to determine the extent, particle size distribution, and composition of pyroclastic deposits on the plateau. The mission will also explore the availability and distribution of near- surface volatiles from prior impacts and in-situ resources, such as ilmenite, using robotic trenching capability. The lunar surface radiation and dust environments would also be investigated through a set of in-situ experiments using the CABLE lander and rover to provide data both of scientific interest and to assist future potential manned missions. Key data are missing on the levitated lunar dust fluxes to assist validation of various mitigation efforts that could be provided by CABLE. This paper discusses the lunar dust operational considerations for CABLE, as well as the potential in- situ experiments to characterize the levitated lunar dust and its effects on optical measurements and robotic operations.Item VMMO Lunar Volatile and Mineralogy Mapping Orbiter(48th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2018-07-08) Kruzelecky, Roman; Murzionak, Piotr; Lavoie, Jonathan; Sinclair, Ian; Schinn, Gregory; Underwood, Craig; Gao, Yang; Bridges, Chris; Armellin, Roberto; Luccafabris, Andrea; Cloutis, Edward; Leijtens, JohanUnderstanding the lunar near-surface distribution of relevant in-situ resources, such as ilmenite (FeTiO3), and volatiles, such as water/ice, is vital to future sustained manned bases. VMMO is a highly-capable, low-cost 12U Cubesat designed for operation in a lunar frozen orbit. It accomodates the LVMM Lunar Volatile and Mineralogy Mapper and the CLAIRE Compact LunAr Ionising Radiation Environment payloads. LVMM is a multi-wavelength Chemical Lidar using fiber lasers emitting at 532nm and 1560nm, with an optional 1064nm channel, for stand-off mapping of the lunar ice distribution using active laser illumination, with a focus on the permanently-shadowed craters in the lunar south pole. This combination of spectral channels can provide sensitive discrimination of water/ice in various regolith. The fiber-laser technology has heritage in the ongoing Fiber Sensor Demonstrator flying on ESA's Proba-2. LVMM can also be used in a low-power passive mode with an added 280nm UV channel to map the lunar mineralogy and ilmenite distribution during the lunar day using the reflected solar illumination. CLAIRE is designed to provide a highly miniaturized radiation environment and effect monitor. CLAIRE draws on heritage from the MuREM and RM payloads, flown on the UK’s TDS-1 spacecraft. The payload includes PIN-diode sensors to measure ionizing particle fluxes (protons and heavy-ions) and to record the resulting linear energy transfer (LET) energy-deposition spectra. It also includes solid-state RADFET dosimeters to measure accumulated ionizing dose, and dose-rate diode detectors, designed to respond to a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) or Solar Particle Event (SPE). CLAIRE also includes an electronic component test board, capable of measuring SEEs and TID effects in a selected set of candidate electronics, allowing direct correlations between effects and the real measured environment.