Low energy neutral atom imaging on the Moon with the SARA instrument aboard Chandrayaan-1 mission

This paper reports on the Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SARA) experiment that will be flown on the first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. The SARA is a low energy neutral atom (LENA) imaging mass spectrometer, which will perform remote sensing of the lunar surface via detection of neutral atoms in the energy range from 10 eV to 3 keV from a 100km polar orbit. In this report we present the basic design of the SARA experiment and discuss various scientific issues that will be addressed. The SARA instrument consists of three major subsystems: a LENA sensor (CENA), a solar wind monitor (SWIM), and a digital processing unit (DPU). SARA will be used to image the solar wind-surface interaction to study primarily the surface composition and surface magnetic anomalies and associated mini-magnetospheres. Studies of lunar exosphere sources and space weathering on the Moon will also be attempted. SARA is the first LENA imaging mass spectrometer of its kind to be flown on a space mission. A replica of SARA is planned to fly to Mercury onboard the BepiColombo mission.     

Lunar ranging instrument for Chandrayaan-1

Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) proposed for the first Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 is aimed to study the topography of the Moon’s surface and its gravitational field by precisely measuring the altitude from a polar orbit around the Moon. Altimetry data close to the poles of the Moon would also be available from the instrument, which was not covered by earlier missions. This instrument supplements the terrain mapping camera and hyperspectral imager payloads on Chandrayaan-1. The instrument consists of a diode pumped Nd:YAG pulsed laser transmitter having 10 nsec pulse width and a receiver system. The receiver system features 17 cm diameter Ritchey—Chrétien collecting optics, Si Avalanche Photo Detector (APD), preamplifiers, constant fraction discriminators, time-of-flight measurement unit and spacecraft interface. Altimeter resolution of better than 5 m is targeted. The received signal strength of LLRI depends on laser pulse backscatter from the Moon’s surface. Moon’s surface being a poor reflector, the choice of receiver size and its type and the selection of detector play an important role in getting a good signal-to-noise ratio and in turn achieving the target resolution. At the same time, the spacecraft puts a limitation on payload size and weight. This paper discusses the proposed LLRI system for Chandrayaan-1 and signal-to-noise ratio estimation.     

The Moon 35 years after Apollo: What's left to learn?

With the cancellation of the Apollo program after Apollo 17 returned from the Moon in 1972, the focus of NASA switched to other areas of the Solar System. Study of the Moon did continue through analysis of the returned samples and remotely sensed data sets (both orbital and surface), as well as through Earth-based telescopic studies. In the 1990s, new orbital data were obtained from several missions (fly-by and orbital), the first being Galileo that allowed the lunar farside to be mapped, followed by global mapping by the Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions.Interest in the Moon started to increase at the beginning of the 21st century as other nations focused their space exploration programs on the Moon. The speech by President Bush in January 2004 put the Moon back into the critical exploration path for NASA, paving the way for humans to return to the lunar surface by 2020. This return will be critical for developing technologies and protocols for the eventual human exploration of other parts of the solar system. At the time of writing (June 2008), the SELENE/Kaguya mission (Japan and Chang’e-1 (China) are orbiting the Moon, with Chandrayaan-1 (India) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (USA) being scheduled to launch later in 2008.The past (and present) exploration of the Moon begs the question “what's left to be done?” With the renewed focus on the Moon, now that it is on the pathway for the exploration of Mars (and beyond) a similar question has been raised - what should the astronauts do on the Moon? The publication of the New Views of the Moon book [Jolliff et al., 2006. New Views of the Moon, Reviews in Mineralogy, vol. 60. American Mineralogical Society, 721pp] highlighted a number of important scientific questions that remain unanswered as well as posing many more on the basis of the currently available data. These questions resonated in three Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) reports pertinent to this discussion, which were also published (on line) during 2006 (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/leag), and in the National Research Council of the National Academies [2007. The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 112pp] report entitled “The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon”. This paper synthesizes these recent studies, along with those from the 1980s and 1990s, to emphasize the lunar science questions that remain unanswered. In addition, it summarizes the missions already flown to the Moon along with those that are planned in order to give the reader an idea of exactly what lunar science has been and will be conducted in the hope that it will inspire proposals for missions to address the outstanding science questions.     

Chandrayaan-1: Science goals

The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-1 mission are simultaneous chemical, mineralogical and topographic mapping of the lunar surface at high spatial resolution. These data should enable us to understand compositional variation of major elements, which in turn, should lead to a better understanding of the stratigraphic relationships between various litho units occurring on the lunar surface. The major element distribution will be determined using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (LEX), sensitive in the energy range of 1–10 keV where Mg, Al, Si, Ca and Fe give their Kα lines. A solar X-ray monitor (SXM) to measure the energy spectrum of solar X-rays, which are responsible for the fluorescent X-rays, is included. Radioactive elements like Th will be measured by its 238.6 keV line using a low energy gamma-ray spectrometer (HEX) operating in the 20–250 keV region. The mineral composition will be determined by a hyper-spectral imaging spectrometer (HySI) sensitive in the 400–920 nm range. The wavelength range is further extended to 2600 nm where some spectral features of the abundant lunar minerals and water occur, by using a near-infrared spectrometer (SIR-2), similar to that used on the Smart-1 mission, in collaboration with ESA. A terrain mapping camera (TMC) in the panchromatic band will provide a three-dimensional map of the lunar surface with a spatial resolution of about 5 m. Aided by a laser altimeter (LLRI) to determine the altitude of the lunar craft, to correct for spatial coverage by various instruments, TMC should enable us to prepare an elevation map with an accuracy of about 10 m. Four additional instruments under international collaboration are being considered. These are: a Miniature Imaging Radar Instrument (mini-SAR), Sub Atomic Reflecting Analyser (SARA), the Moon Mineral Mapper (M3) and a Radiation Monitor (RADOM). Apart from these scientific payloads, certain technology experiments have been proposed, which may include an impactor which will be released to land on the Moon during the mission. Salient features of the mission are described here. The ensemble of instruments onboard Chandrayaan-1 should enable us to accomplish the science goals defined for this mission.     

High energy X-γ ray spectrometer on the Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon

The Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon scheduled for launch in late 2007 will include a high energy X-ray spectrometer (HEX) for detection of naturally occurring emissions from the lunar surface due to radioactive decay of the²³⁸U and²³²Th series nuclides in the energy region 20–250 keV. The primary science objective is to study the transport of volatiles on the lunar surface by detection of the 46.5 keV line from radioactive²¹⁰Pb, a decay product of the gaseous²²²Rn, both of which are members of the²³⁸U decay series. Mapping of U and Th concentration over the lunar surface, particularly in the polar and U-Th rich regions will also be attempted through detection of prominent lines from the U and Th decay series in the above energy range. The low signal strengths of these emissions require a detector with high sensitivity and good energy resolution. Pixelated Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride (CZT) array detectors having these characteristics will be used in this experiment. Here we describe the science considerations that led to this experiment, anticipated flux and background (lunar continuum), the choice of detectors, the proposed payload configuration and plans for its realization     

井眼轨道的软着陆设计模型的改进解法

井眼轨道的软着陆设计模型的求解可以归结为一个七元非线性方程组的求解问题。前人给出了数值迭代求解算法,然而并没有证明该迭代算法的收敛性,并且该算法是否收敛严重依赖于用户给出的迭代初始值。通过一系列的消元、化简的数学技巧,将七元非线性方程组化简为一元多项式方程,并在此基础上给出了软着陆设计模型的一个新算法。理论分析和实际算例表明,新算法的主要计算工作量是求多项式方程的非负实数根,其他未知数与实数根是简单的函数关系,计算量很小。新算法克服了迭代算法的初值依赖性以及迭代过程可能发散等缺陷,并且在设计模型有多个解的情况下,可以同时求出这些解。     

The Clementine mission —A 10-year perspective

Clementine was a technology demonstration mission jointly sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD) and NASA that was launched on January 25th, 1994. Its principal objective was to use the Moon, a near-Earth asteroid, and the spacecraft’s Interstage Adapter as targets to demonstrate lightweight sensor performance and several innovative spacecraft systems and technologies. The design, development, and operation of the Clementine spacecraft and ground system was performed by the Naval Research Laboratory. For over two months Clementine mapped the Moon, producing the first multispectral global digital map of the Moon, the first global topographic map, and contributing several other important scientific discoveries, including the possibility of ice at the lunar South Pole. New experiments or schedule modifications were made with minimal constraints, maximizing science return, thus creating a new paradigm for mission operations. Clementine was the first mission known to conduct an in-flight autonomous operations experiment. After leaving the Moon, Clementine suffered an onboard failure that caused cancellation of the asteroid rendezvous. Despite this setback, NASA and the DOD applied the lessons learned from the Clementine mission to later missions. Clementine set the standard against which new small spacecraft missions are commonly measured. More than any other mission, Clementine has the most influence (scientifically, technically, and operationally) on the lunar missions being planned for the next decade.     

Lunar surface mineralogy using hyperspectral data: Implications for primordial crust in the Earth–Moon system

Mineralogy of the Lunar surface provides important clues for understanding the composition and evolution of the primordial crust in the Earth–Moon system. The primary rock forming minerals on the Moon such as pyroxene, olivine and plagioclase are potential tools to evaluate the Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO) hypothesis. Here we use the data from Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³) onboard the Chandrayaan-1 project of India, which provides Visible/Near Infra Red (NIR) spectral data (hyperspectral data) of the Lunar surface to gain insights on the surface mineralogy. Band shaping and spectral profiling methods are used for identifying minerals in five sites: the Moscoviense basin, Orientale basin, Apollo basin, Wegener crater-highland, and Hertzsprung basin. The common presence of plagioclase in these sites is in conformity with the anorthositic composition of the Lunar crust. Pyroxenes, olivine and Fe-Mg-spinel from the sample sites indicate the presence of gabbroic and basaltic components. The compositional difference in pyroxenes suggests magmatic differentiation on the Lunar surface. Olivine contains OH/H₂O band, indicating hydrous phase in the primordial magmas.     

摆线型大位移井剖面设计的数值计算

摆线型大位移井轨道由“直井段—圆弧井段—摆线井段—稳斜井段”构成,与其他类型的大位移井轨道相比,摆线型大位移井具有最小的或很小的摩阻和摩阻力矩。摆线型大位移井轨道设计问题归结为求解一个二元方程组,当未知设计参数为摆线井段初始井斜角或稳斜井段井斜角时,该方程组为非线性方程组,没有解析解。通过数学变换和化简,得到了等价的三角函数方程,根据区间搜索和二分法提出了求该三角函数方程近似解的数值迭代算法。算例表明,该算法具有很好的迭代稳定性,计算精度高、速度快。新算法可用于大位移井轨道设计的计算机软件开发,对于提高软件的适用性和稳定性具有较大的帮助。     

Imaging and power generation strategies for chandrayaan-1

The Chandrayaan-1 mission proposes to put a 550 kg lunarcraft into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) which will subsequently be transferred into a 100 km circular lunar polar orbit for imaging purposes. In this paper, we describe certain aspects of mission strategies which will allow optimum power generation and imaging of the lunar surface. The lunar orbit considered is circular and polar and therefore nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic plane. Unlike an Earth orbiting remote sensing satellite, the orbit plane of lunar orbiter is inertially fixed as a consequence of the very small oblateness of the Moon. The Earth rotates around the Sun once a year, resulting in an apparent motion of Sun around this orbit in a year. Two extreme situations can be identified concerning the solar illumination of the lunar orbit, noon/midnight orbit, where the Sun vector is parallel to the spacecraft orbit plane and dawn/dusk orbit, where the Sun vector is perpendicular to the spacecraft orbit plane. This scenario directly affects the solar panel configuration. In case the solar panels are not canted, during the noon/midnight orbit, 100% power is generated, whereas during the dawn/dusk orbit, zero power is generated. Hence for optimum power generation, canting of the panels is essential. Detailed analysis was carried out to fix optimum canting and also determine a strategy to maintain optimum power generation throughout the year. The analysis led to the strategy of 180‡ yaw rotation at noon/midnight orbits and flipping the solar panel by 180‡ at dawn/dusk orbits. This also resulted in the negative pitch face of the lunarcraft to be an anti-sun panel, which is very useful for thermal design, and further to meet cooling requirements of the spectrometers. In principle the Moon’s surface can be imaged in 28 days, because the orbit chosen and the payload swath provide adequate overlap. However, in reality it is not possible to complete the imaging in 28 days due to various mission constraints like maximum duration of imaging allowed keeping in view the SSR sizing and payloads data input rate, time required for downlinking the payload data, data compression requirements and visibility of the lunarcraft for the Bangalore DSN. In each cycle, all the latitudes are swept. Due to the constraints mentioned, only 60‡ latitude arc coverage is possible in each orbit. As Bangalore DSN is the only station, half of the orbits in a day are not available. The longitudinal gaps because of non-visibility are covered in the next cycle by Bangalore DSN. Hence, in the firstprime imaging season, only 25% of the prime imaging zones are covered, and an additional threeprime imaging seasons are required for a full coverage of the Moon in two years. Strategy is also planned to cover X-ray payload coverage considering swath and orbit shift.     

二维圆弧型井眼轨道设计问题的通解

二维圆弧型井眼轨道是常规定向井、水平井轨道设计优先考虑的剖面类型,应用比较广泛。但是由于井段组合形式很多,并且对于同一种井段组合还有很多种未知数求解组合,推导每种井段组合和求解组合情况下的解的计算公式的工作非常繁重和复杂。研究了任意井段组合和任意求解组合的通解问题,发现井眼轨道设计问题的约束方程组可以化归成线性代数方程组或者4种典型方程组之一;得到了4种典型方程组的实数解的计算公式,并给出了有实数解的判别条件。对于二维圆弧型井眼轨道设计问题的基础理论研究和计算机软件开发都有重要的意义。     

钻孔随钻三维轨迹测量技术研究

煤矿井下钻孔施工中,在缺少控制钻孔轨迹偏移测量技术的情况下,施工钻孔轨迹与钻孔设计轨迹偏差较大,无法满足煤矿瓦斯抽采的设计需求。阐述了随钻钻孔三维轨迹测量技术,目的是通过对随钻三维轨迹测量技术的研究,精确控制瓦斯钻孔轨迹,解决瓦斯突出煤层快速掘进及安全高效回采问题。钻孔随钻三维轨迹测量技术是通过对钻机开孔角度和钻孔轨迹的精确测量,使用三维轨迹成图方法显示。通过大量的数据采集与施工验证证明,该方法成为预抽钻孔煤层保安全、促生产过程中的重要环节,避免了钻孔设计及施工的盲目性,提高了抽采钻孔的利用率及施工速度。     

金31-平2阶梯式水平井井眼轨迹控制技术

阶梯式水平井是常规水平井发展的一个方向,它具有位移更大、控油面积更广的特点,和常规水平井相比,可以同时开采不同层位的油层等。从阶梯式水平井的轨迹控制技术难点人手,以金31-平2井为例,简要介绍了该井的地质设计、井身轨道设计方案,给出了在该井施工过程中各井段井眼轨迹控制思路、方法,通过分析主要工艺技术,阐明了阶梯水平井实施的重点和配套的技术措施。     

大位移井悬链线剖面设计的数值计算

悬链线剖面是大位移井轨道的经典类型,在进行设计时需要求解一个以悬链线初始井斜角为未知数的非线性方程。由于未知数包含在多个三角函数和对数函数中,计算工作量较大,而且常用的迭代求解方法存在一些问题。通过数学变换将该方程转换成一个只包含对数函数和多项式函数的新方程,对新方程的函数性态做了几何分析,进而提出了寻找求解区间的步长搜索算法和自适应步长搜索算法。利用二分法在求解区间上能够快速求出新方程的数值解。利用大位移井设计实例验证了本文算法的有效性,并对圆弧井段井眼曲率与方程解的关系进行了讨论。本文提出的算法可用于大位移井轨道设计的计算机软件开发中。     

煤层气多分支水平井井眼轨道优化设计模型

煤储层具有低压低渗特征,致使煤层气开发困难,单井产量低;而多分支水平井能显著增﹑加井筒与煤层的接触面积,提高单井产量,缩短经济回收期。为此,提出了煤层气多分支水平井井眼轨道优化设计准则和主水平井方位的选择方法,建立了煤层侧钻水平井井眼轨道优化设计模型,并将该模型用于鄂尔多斯盆地2号和10号煤层的煤层气多分支水平井井眼轨道优化设计。结果表明,该模型实现了以较短的井眼轨道进入目标靶点,保证了分支井眼的平滑度,对煤层气钻井设计具有重要的指导意义。      

徐深21-平1井轨迹控制技术

徐深21-平1井完钻井深4955 m。在火山岩储层中横向穿行905 m,井眼轨迹控制精度要求高,并在登二泥岩段岩石可钻性达8级的情况下裸眼侧钻成功,为后续施工奠定了基础。简述了井身结构及轨迹剖面设计,分析了井眼轨迹控制难点,详细介绍了增斜段、侧钻段、水平段井眼轨迹控制情况。该井的成功钻探,为该区块水平井施工积累了宝贵经验。     

Analysis of mineral compositions and crater morphology on the Moon surface using Moon orbital satellite data

Analysing vertical and lateral distribution of minerals within an impact crater on lunar surface would aid in understanding the crustal compositions to a larger extent and provides clue about geological evolution of the Moon. The Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) data have high spectral and spatial resolutions, which help in identifying the mineral compositions and morphological features of impact crater. Here we analyse mineral compositions and their correlations with crater morphology using M3 and LROC satellite data of Eijkman impact cater in SouthPole Atiken (SPA) basin. The result shows that low-Ca pyroxene (LCP) dominant rocks are identified on Central Peak (CP), Crater Floor (CF), Crater Wall (CW) and Crater Rim (CR). An olivine dominant rock is detected on the CW. Fe-Mg-spinel lithological unit is observed on the CF. The results implicate that, (i) Low-Ca pyroxene minerals could be from the lower crust during SPA main event; (ii) Presence of olivine and Fe-Mg-spinel lithology on the surface could be a later stage mafic intrusions or the lower-crustal material exposed on the surface due to major impacts.     

月球探测与人类社会的可持续发展

1959年至1976年的18年是人类第一次月球探测高潮，美国和前苏联共成功发射了45个月球探测器，获取了382kg的月球岩石和月壤样品，这些探测资料和月球样品的系统分析与研究，大大促进了人类对月球、地球和太阳系的认识，并带动了一系列基础科学的创新，促进了一系列应用科学的发展。通过从1976年至1994年近18年浩如烟海的月球探测数据和资料的消化、分析与综合研究后，1994年Clementine环月探测器的发射，标志新的一轮探月高潮的开始。当前，国际探月活动刚进入重返月球、逐步建设月球基地的阶段，而逐步开发利用月球矿产资源、能源和特殊环境，建设月球基地，为人类社会的可持续发展服务，已成为新世纪月球探测的总体目标。本在系统分析已有的探测与研究资料基础上，论述了开发利用月球上具有的巨大能源库、丰富的矿产资源和独特的环境资源将对人类社会可持续发展所具有的深远意义。     

SELENE project status

SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) project started as a joint mission of the former ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science) and the former NASDA (National Space Development Agency: the two organizations were merged into JAXA in 2002) of Japan in 1998. The launch target is rescheduled for 2006 due to delay of completion of launch vehicle, H-IIA. The SELENE project is now under a sustained design phase. The flight model components were manufactured, and the interface tests between the bus-system and the mission instruments were completed by the end of March 2004. The functional checks and calibration for the flight model components are being carried out at present. From the beginning of 2005, the final assembly tests will start.