Scientific Preparations for Lunar Exploration with the European Lunar Lander

This paper discusses the scientific objectives for the ESA Lunar Lander Mission, which emphasise human exploration preparatory science and introduces the model scientific payload considered as part of the on-going mission studies, in advance of a formal instrument selection.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Planetary and Space Science 51 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

Combined Raman spectrometer/laser-induced breakdown spectrometer for the next ESA mission to Mars

6 pages, 6 figures.-- PMID: 17466575 [PubMed].-- Printed version published Dec 15, 2007.-- ISI Article Identifier: 000251747000003Issue title: Seventh International Conference on Raman Spectroscopy Applied to the Earth and Planetary Sciences (Granada, Spain, June 4-7, 2006).Among the different instruments that have been pre-selected to be on-board the Pasteur payload on ExoMars is the Raman/laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument. Raman spectroscopy and LIBS will be integrated into a single instrument sharing many hardware commonalities.An international team under the lead of TNO has been gathered to produce a design concept for a combined Raman spectrometer/LIBS elegant bread-board (EBB). The instrument is based on a specially designed, extremely compact, spectrometer with high resolution over a large wavelength range, suitable for both Raman spectroscopy and LIBS measurements. Low mass, size and power consumption are the main drivers of the instrument's design concept.In this paper, science objectives for the combined instrument are detailed. Background information on Raman spectroscopy and LIBS are presented, focussing on the synergy of these two techniques. In the last section, the instrument concept resulting from the assessment of the feasibility of the combined Raman/LIBS EBB is presented.The EBB activity reported here is supported by ESA contract 19608/06/NL/GM.Peer reviewe

Vibrationally excited state stectroscopy of radicals in a supersonic plasma

A plasma source based on a multilayer discharge geometry in combination with a time-of-flight REMPI experiment is used to study rotationally cold spectra of highly excited vibrational states of mass selected radicals. The rovibrational state distributions upon discharge excitation are characterised for the example of NO for ground state vibrational levels up to v″=18. Whereas rotational temperatures are lower than 50 K, a vibrational temperature of

Vibrationally excited state spectroscopy of radicals in a supersonic plasma

A plasma source based on a multilayer discharge geometry in combination with a time-of-flight REMPI experiment is used to study rotationally cold spectra of highly excited vibrational states of mass selected radicals. The rovibrational state distributions upon discharge excitation are characterised for the example of NO for ground state vibrational levels up to v″=18. Whereas rotational temperatures are lower than 50 K, a vibrational temperature of

Fast single-photon avalanche diode arrays for laser Raman spectroscopy

We incorporate newly developed solid-state detector technology into time-resolved laser Raman spectroscopy, demonstrating the ability to distinguish spectra from Raman and fluorescence processes. As a proof of concept, we show fluorescence rejection on highly fluorescent mineral samples willemite and spodumene using a 128 × 128 single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array with a measured photon detection efficiency of 5%. The sensitivity achieved in this new instrument architecture is comparable to the sensitivity of a technically more complicated system using a traditional photocathode-based imager. By increasing the SPAD active area and improving coupling efficiency, we expect further improvements in sensitivity by over an order of magnitude. We discuss the relevance of these results to in situ planetary instruments, where size, weight, power, and radiation hardness are of prime concern. The potential large-scale manufacturability of silicon SPAD arrays makes them prime candidates for future portable and in situ Raman instruments spanning numerous applications where fluorescence interference is problematic.MicroelectronicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc