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[]ASA-CR-150945) SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT of the N76-31277 ?OLLO INFRARED SCANNING RADIOMETER EXPERIMENT Final Report (Rice Univ.) 236 P HC $8.00 CSCL Igb Unclas

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[]ASA-CR-150945) SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT of the N76-31277 ?OLLO INFRARED SCANNING RADIOMETER EXPERIMENT Final Report (Rice Univ.) 236 P HC $8.00 CSCL Igb Unclas 1976024189 / Jt []ASA-CR-150945) SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT OF THE N76-31277 ?OLLO INFRARED SCANNING RADIOMETER EXPERIMENT Final Report (Rice Univ.) 236 p HC $8.00 CSCL IgB Unclas I G3/19 02973 FINAL REPORT Scientific Support of the Apollo Infrared Scanning Radiometer Experiment Contract NAS9-I0428 Rice University 1976024189-002 %_ The enclosed collection of publications constitutes the final report for Co_tract NAS9-I0428, "Scientific Support of the Apollo Infrared Scanning Radiometer Experiment". The principal document for reference is entitled, "The Apollo 17 Infrared Scanning Radiometer" by Wendell W. Mendell. It contains a detailed discussion of the experimental objectives, instrument design and development, and radiometric calibration. In later chapters of the document the instrument performance is analyzed and the nature of the scientific results is estab- lished. The other documents address more specific topics and generally are earlier results. The collection as a whole represents the Principal Investigator's effort for Apollo Experiment S-171. : This effort established the utility of _¢anning radio- metry for the study of planetary surface processes. The quantitative, two-dimensional thermal "image" produced by the scanning technique permits an exchange of information between the radiometric results and photogeologic mapping. Collections of point radiometric measurements are difficult to interpret without reference to the surface geology. Thermal maps clarify the correlations. Once the geological context of the : thermal data is clear, then the physical properties of the geologic units can be quantified from the thermal emission data. 8 1976024189-003 i 1 I : i ' -2- _" The Infrared Scanning Radiometer also proved out the concept of mapping low temperature surfaces using an uncooled bolometer detector. The experience gained on Apollo can be applied directly to future orbital missions to the Moon and Mercury and to future exploration of the asteroids and the satellites of the outer planets. The ISR was the first space borne mapper designed for far infrared radiometry. Calibration procedures had to be developed, and the experience is described in some detail in this report. Hopefully, future investigators can make use of the discussion in the design of their infrared calibration facilities. The ISR Experiment was a complex and successful effort involving the coordinated activities of many people from Rice University, NASA, and Barnes Engineering. We are pleased to : have been part of it. ( 1976024189-004 , I I RICEUNIVERSITY .-.. ! I : THE APOLLO17 INFRAREDSCANNINGRADIOMETER WendellW, Nendell A THESISSUBr.IITTED IN PARTIALFULFILL_IEOFNTTHE REQUIRBIENTSFORTHE DEGREEOF Ph.D. The.__1nirector'ssignature: ,% Houston,Texas _ April1976 1976024189-005 A THE APOLLO 17 INFRAREDSCANNINGRADIOMETER Abstract The InfraredScanning Radiometer{ISR)was designed to map the ther- mal emissionof the lunar surface from the Service Module of the orbiting Apollo 17 spacecraft. The principalexperimentalobjectivewas the meas- urementof lunar surfacen" .timetemperatures,which are extremely difficultto map from Earth-basedtelescopes. J Data objectivesfall into two main categories. In the first case, lunar regions can be classed accordingto surfacepropertiesas determined by nighttimetemperaturesand cooling rates. Secondly,geophysicalbound- aries can be establishedfrom thermalmaps of the highestpossible spatial resolution. The ISR is an imaging llne scJnner utilizinga continuouslyrotating, single-sided,plane scan mirror. The detector is an uncooled thermistor bolometerbonded to a hyperhemisphericsilicon immersionlens. The all- ? i reflectiveCassegrainoptical system has an apertureof 17.8 cm and an ; instantaneous ;4 of view of 20 milli_'adians.The spectral responseof the ISR starts az _ lJmand extends to approximately70 um. A tempera- ture measurementsensitivityof IK is maintainedover a dynamic range of 80K to 400K within the constraintsof the Apollo telemetrysystem. A unique "space clamp" circuit providesan absolute radiometricmeasurement . by automaticallyreferencingeach lunar scan to the "zero" signal from deep space. A comprehensiveprogram of acceptancetesting verifiedthe ability of the ISR to operate in the Apollo mission enviror_ent. Significant tests supportingscientificobjectives includedcalibrationin a th£rmal 1976024189-006 vacuumchamber,mappingthe instantaneousfieldof view,_nd characteriza- tionof the frequencyresponseof the ISR signalprocessing.Discrepancies in the acceptancetestsand anomaliesduringmissionoperationprompted furthertestson the nonfllghtunits. The ISRtran_mlttedapproximately90 hoursof lunardata spreadover 5 days in lunarorbit. ApproximatelylO8 independentlunartemperature 4 measurementwseremade withan absoluteaccuracyof 2K. Spatialresolu- tlonat nadirwas approximately2.2 km (dependingon orbitalaltitude), exceedingthat of Earth-basemdeasurementsby at leastan orderof magni- tude. The data coversapproximately35% of the sphereas determinedby the horizon-to-horizsconanscenteredon theApollo17 groundtrack. Preliminarystudiesof thedata revealthe highestpopulationof thermalanomalies(or "hotspots")in OceanusProcellarum.Very few anom- aliesexiston the far sideof theMoon as was predictedfrom theassocia- tionof anomalieswithmare on the near side. A numberof negativeanom- alies {or"coldspots")havealso beenfound. It is possiblethatthese areasrepresentgeologicallyyoungdepositsof materialwhichis less : compactedthan the averagelunarsoillayer. I 1976024189-007 i t F d TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction l ExperimentalObjective 4 HistoricalContextof the Measurement 9 ConceptualDesign of the ISR 21 Design Constraints Imposedby the Apollo Mission 29 PredictedPerformance 40 AcceptanceTesting 59 Calibration 68 Flight Performance 92 Subsolar Point Saturation 93 Zero PoiFt, Drift 98 PreliminaryResults llO Lunar Surface Coverage llO Data Reduction If4 SurfaceTemperatureHi_tory I15 RegionalTerrain Types I17 Crater DegradationMod,_l 123 Cool Halo Craters 137 Conclusions 142 Bibliography 145 Appendix A: A Mission Strategyfor the ISR Based on Potential Errors in the Space Look 150 Appendix B: Evaluationof the Noise BandwidthIntegral 166 Appendix C: Analysis of ISR SensitivityVariationswith Temperature 169 1976024189-008 TABLEOF CONTENTS{Continued) Page Listof Figures 180 Listof Tables 182 Acknowedgl ement s 183 1976024189-009 I i L i ' I i i I 1 :I l I. Introduction Project Apollo was the great adventure in planetaryscience of the early Seventies. More than a tour de force of engineeri_ and technology, the program representedthe first step beyond planetaryreconnaissance toward a capabilityfor intensiveplanetaryexploration, Over a period of three and a half yea_s the basic Apollo spacecraftwas upgraded con- _inuouslyto increasescientificpayload,astronautmobility,and stay time on the lunar surface. The final spacecraftconfiguration,known as the J series,carried a suite of instruments4edicatedto orbital science. The orbital science payload provideddata on lunar surfacegeochemistryand the geophysical propertiesof the Moon as a planet. The instrumentswere operated prima- rily by the CommandModule Pilot,who remained in orbit in the Command- ServiceModule (CSM)while the other two crew members explored the lunar surface. The instrumentswere installedin a sectorof the Service Module called the ScientificInstrumentModule (SIM) Bay. Apollo 17, the final mission, carried the InfraredScanning Radiom- eter (ISR)to lunar orbit in December, 1972. The ISR was designed to . map thermal emissionfrom the lunar surfacewith greateraccuracy, sen- sitivity,and spatialresolutionthan could be obtainedusing Earth- " based techniques. The principalexperimentalobjectivewas the acquisi- tion of accurate temperaturemeasurementsfrom the nighttimesurface, particularlyat local times between lunar midnightand dawn. Theoreticalconsiderationspredictthat nighttimesurface tempera- ture distributionsmirror variations in the physicalpropertiesof the _" lunar soil from place to place. Thermal mapping from Earth-basedtele- 1976024189-010 2 If scopes had demonstratedlarge scale heterogeneityin soil parametersin associationwith various classes of lunar features. We believedthat better resolutionof these thermal patternswould give insight into Iunar geologicalprocesses. Additionally,analysisof the temperature data would result _n quantitativeestimatesof soil density and structure. Implementationof the experimentseemed straightforwardat first, but it soon became clear that the instrumentationwould require some "firsts". Predawnlunar temperaturesfall to 90 K and lower. Earth- based detectionof such low therm_1 flux requirescryogenicallycooled detectors. The best detectoravailable for that task was a germanium bolometercooled by liquid helium. However,any type of cooling system, passive or active, for such a long mission (_2 weeks) required develop- ment work. W Preliminarycalculationsshowed that an "ordinary:_weather satellite radiometerusing an uncooledth. mistor bolometercould be modified to provide a reasonablesignal to noise ratio for the measurementof a 90 K temperature(F. Malinowski,unpubl,memo). The absence of any significant absorbingand emittingatmospherearound the Moon permittedoperationof the radiometerwithout spectralfilters. The increase in flux available to the unfiltereddetector, particularlyat long wavelengths,compensated for the low level of emitted radiation. Proposalsreceivedfrom industry for constructionof the ISR independentlyconfirmed the analysis (e.g., P1akun, et al., 1969).
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