CCLDAS: Instrument development

CCLDAS kickoff March 13, 2009

CCLDAS: Instrument development

Z. Sternovsky, and the CCLDAS team

LASP, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

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• Motivation for dust instruments on and around the Moon

• ELDA: Electrostatic Lunar Dust Analyzer

• LDEX: Lunar Dust Experiment

• Summary

Outline

3Dust near the surface and in the exosphere

Submicron sized dust• n ~ exp(H/HS), HS = 5 – 20 km• at 50 km alt. n ≈ 100 m-3 • 0.1 micron

LEAM: Lunar Ejecta and Meteorite Experiment

Clementine observations

4ELDA: Electrostatic Lunar Dust Analyzer

• PIDDP development (start summer of 2008)

• Wire electrode array to detect the charge on the dust

• Accurate trajectory reconstruction (1% speed, 1 deg direction)

Dust Trajectory Sensor (DTS)

5ELDA cont.

CU laboratory measurements

6ELDA cont.

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ELDA: Combination of DTS with a deflection unit to Measure the charge, mass and trajectory (source) of single dust grains on the lunar surface

Under development

7LDEX: Lunar Dust Experiment• Dust detector for the LADEE mission• UV spectrometer and neutral mass spectrometers on LADEE• On-orbit dust detection ( approx. 20 – 100 km altitude range)• Sensitivity to r = 0.2 micron dust• Launch March 2012

LDEX prototype instrument built at LASP

8LDEX testing and calibrationHeidelberg dust accelerator

Submicron Fe particles, v = 1-20 km/s

Q = 0.5 m v3.5

Impact signal

Impact charge QI mass mTime constant τI impact velocity

Dust

9LDEX operation principle

Operation principle• Impact ionization dust detector• MCP is used for improved sensitivity

10LDEX current status

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Summary

• Instrument development for future missions are part of the CCLDAS goals

• Instruments– Dust detectors for orbit (LDEX)– Lunar dust transport monitor (ELDA)– Impact monitoring and composition analysis (LAMA)– Electric field and plasma probes for the lunar surface