Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Presentation to Public Librarians at GSFC Visitors Center
David Everett
February 2, 2006
LRO Overview
• LRO will launch by 2008 to provide critically needed data to
enable and to plan future Exploration objectives
• LRO provides major exploration and scientific benefits by
2009
– Apollo provided first order information from a small region of the
Moon; much more of the Moon need to be explored
– LRO objectives addresses future landing sites, polar resources,
safety, and lunar science goals
– LRO address both science and exploration objectives
• LRO instrument suite complements international lunar
missions
– Six instruments competitively selected
– Comparison to international missions demonstrate LRO
uniqueness and value
David Everett--LRO Overview
2
US Lunar Robotic and Apollo Missions
Mission
Launch Date
Type
Ranger 3
Ranger 4
Ranger 5
Ranger 6
Ranger 7
Ranger 8
Ranger 9
Surveyor 1
Lunar Orbiter 1
Surveyor 2
Lunar Orbiter 2
Lunar Orbiter 3
Surveyor 3
Lunar Orbiter 4
Surveyor 4
Explorer 35
Lunar Orbiter 5
Surveyor 5
Surveyor 6
Surveyor 7
Apollo 8
Apollo 10
Apollo 11
Apollo 12
Apollo 13
Apollo 14
Apollo 15
Apollo 16
Apollo 17
Explorer 49
Clementine
Lunar Prospector
01/62
04/62
10/62
01/64
07/64
02/65
03/65
05/66
08/66
09/66
11/66
02/67
04/67
05/67
07/67
07/67
08/67
09/67
11/67
01/68
12/68
05/69
07/69
11/69
04/70
01/71
07/71
04/72
12/72
06/73
01/94
01/98
Hard Lander (missed the moon)
Hard Lander (hit farside)
Hard Lander (missed the moon)
Hard Lander (TV failed)
Hard Lander
Hard Lander
Hard Lander
Soft Lander
Orbiter
Lander (crashed)
Orbiter
Orbiter
Soft Lander
Orbiter
Lander (crashed)
Orbiter
Orbiter
Soft Lander
Soft Lander
Soft Lander
Orbiter (1st Human to orbit the moon)
Orbiter Test LM in lunar orbit
Mare Tranquillitatis (1st manned lunar landing)
Oceanus Procellarum (near Surveyor 3 spacecraft)
Flyby (aborted mission after onboard explosion)
Fra Mauro (1st highland mission)
Hadley-Apennines (1st use of rover, extended LM)
Descartes (Lunar highlands)
Taurus-Littrow (Last Apollo landing, 1st geologist lunar astronaut)
Lunar Orbit radio-astronomy explorer (RAE-B)
Orbiter (BiStatic radar indications of polar water)
Orbiter (Neutron Spectrscopy indications of polar “water’)
David Everett--LRO Overview
3
LRO Payload Provides Broad Benefits
INSTRUMENT
CRaTER
Cosmic Ray Telescope
for the Effects of Radiation
DLRE
Diviner Lunar
Radiometer Experiment
LAMP
Lyman Alpha Mapping Project
LEND
Lunar Exploration
Neutron Detector
LOLA
Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter
LROC
Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter Camera
Mini-RF
Technology Demonstration
Measurement
Exploration
Benefit
Science
Benefit
Tissue equivalent response to
radiation
Safe, high performance, lighter
weight space vehicles
Radiation boundary conditions
for biological response
400m scale maps of
Temperature, surface ice,
mineralogy
Determines conditions for
systems operability, resource
including water-ice location
Maps of frosts in permanently
shadowed areas, etc.
Locate potential water-ice on
the surface, image shadowed
areas
Maps of hydrogen in upper 1
m of Moon at 10km scales
Locate potential water-ice in
lunar soil
~50 m scale polar topography
at < 10 cm vertical, roughness
Safe landing sites and surface
navigation
Geodetic topography for
geological evolution
1000’s of 50cm/pixel images
(125km2), and entire Moon at
100m in UV, Visible
Surface Landing hazards and
some resource identification
Tectonic, impact and volcanic
processes, resource evaluation,
and crustal evolution
X&S-band Radar imaging and
radiometry
Demonstrate new lightweight
SAR and communication
technologies, locate potential
water-ice
Source, history, deposition of
polar volatiles
David Everett--LRO Overview
Source, history, migration and
deposition of polar volatiles
4
Comparison to Foreign Systems Demonstrate
Uniqueness and Value
Reqt’s for LRO
2008 NASA LRO
Chang’E-1
Lunar - A
(from NASA ORDT, and ESMD RLEP
Reqt’s 9/04; NRC Decadal, 2002)
[50km orbit, 1 yr+]
Competed Payload
(CSSAR 2007 launch)
[200 km orbit]
(JAXA ~ 2007)
[Orbiter and Penetrator}
Radiation Environment
Global assessment including neutrons,
GCR (imaging NS, Rad Sensor)
High energy particle detector < 400 MeV
protons, < 730 MeV heavy ions
Not addressed
Biological Adaptation
Biological responses to radiation (Rad
Not addressed
Not addressed
Sensor)
Shielding materials
(test-beds)
Shielding expt’s with TEP (Rad Sensor)
Not addressed
Not addressed
Geodetic topography (global)
10’s m x,y, with < 1m vertical precision,
attn to poles (Lidar) – slope data
Laser alt. 1 m altitude resolution
Not addressed
H mapping to assess ice
Landform scale at 100 ppm (~5 km scale
at poles) (imaging NS)
Not addressed
Not addressed
T mapping cold traps (polar)
Landform scale at 3-5K (40-300K):
~300m scale
Microwave radiometer – likely to measure
relative temperature.
Not addressed
Not addressed
Not addressed
(IR mapper)
Putative ice deposits at poles
~25-400m scales in shadows
(Imager, Lidar, NS, IR, UV)
Sub-meter imaging for landing site
assessment
Targeted, meter-scale feature detection,
hazards (Imager, Lidar)
Stereo Camera and Spectrographic Imager
> 100 m resolution
Not addressed – 30 m resolution camera.
Polar illumination
High time-rate polar imaging (Imagers)
Not addressed
Not addressed
OTHER
Far UV imaging for frosts and lunar
atmosphere (farside gravity from lidar)
Solar wind detector
Farside penetrator - seismic and heat-flow
experiments, possible far side gravity.
David Everett--LRO Overview
5
Comparison to Foreign Systems Demonstrate
Uniqueness and Value
Reqt’s for LRO
2008 NASA LRO
SELENE
SMART-1
Chandrayaan
(from NASA ORDT, and ESMD
RLEP Reqt’s 9/04; NRC
Decadal, 2002)
[50km orbit, 1 yr+]
Competed Payload
(JAXA orbiter ~ 2007)
[100km orbit, 1 yr]
(ESA lunar 2005 orbiter)
[250km periapsis]
(ISRO 2007-2008 launch)
[100+ km orbit]
Mineralogical Mapper
Radiation Environment
Global assessment including
neutrons, GCR (imaging NS, Rad
Highly limited overlap in some
narrow energy ranges
Limited to some energy ranges
Radiation monitor 8 keV
threshold does not measure
neutrons
Not addressed
Not addressed
Not addressed
Sensor)
Biological Adaptation
Biological responses to radiation
(Rad Sensor)
Shielding materials
(test-beds)
Shielding expt’s with TEP (Rad
Sensor)
Not addressed
Not addressed
Not addressed
Geodetic topography (global)
10’s m x,y, with < 1m vertical
precision, attn to poles (Lidar) –
Not addressed
slope data
1.6 km x, y at > 20 m vertical
precision (RMS)
[not meet LRO goals]
Laser alt. 5 m vert. res.
Stereo cameras 5 m elev.
10 m x,y
H mapping to assess ice
Landform scale at 100 ppm (~5
km scale at poles) (imaging NS)
160km scale via GRS (does not
meet LRO goals)
Limited to 100’s of km scale (H)
[does not meet LRO goals]
Some potential, but depends on
contributed sensors
T mapping cold traps (polar)
Landform scale at 3-5K (40300K): ~300m scale
Not addressed
Not addressed
Not addressed
Not addressed in this mission
(cf. GRS)
Not addressed
Mini-SAR, high energy x-rays
(IR mapper)
Putative ice deposits at poles
~25-400m scales in shadows
(Imager, Lidar, NS, IR, UV)
Sub-meter imaging for landing
site assessment
Targeted, meter-scale feature
detection, hazards (Imager, Lidar)
Not addressed: best imaging is
~10m/pixel stereo, MS
imaging (10+ VISNIR bands)
Not addressed (best imaging is
10-100 m/pixel)
Not addressed, but imaging (MS)
will be included (10’s m/pixel)
Polar illumination
High time-rate polar imaging
Partially addressed, but
frequency TBD?
Limited
Stereo cameras 10 m spatial
resolution
Particles and Fields, Farside
gravity, elemental chemistry
Particles and Fields, etc.
Hyper-spectral and Infrared
Imagers for mineralogical
mapping
(Imagers)
OTHER
Far UV imaging for frosts and
lunar atmosphere (farside gravity
from lidar)
David Everett--LRO Overview
6
Lunar Cold Traps
• Cold traps exist near the lunar poles (Watson et al., 1961)
– Low obliquity of Moon affords permanent shadow in depressions at high
latitude.
– Temperatures are low enough to retain volatiles for t > tMoon.
David Everett--LRO Overview
7
Volatile Content of Cold Traps
• Hydrogen enhancements have been detected by Lunar
Prospector Neutron Spectrometer (Feldman et al., 1998; 2000)
– Spatially correlated to the regions of permanent shadow (Feldman et al.,
2001) spatial resolution about 50 km (30 km orbit) orbit 150 km ( 100 km orbit)
– Concentrations of H at 1670 ppm detected in upper 1 m in SP PSRs.
Feldman et al., JGR
David Everett--LRO Overview
8
South Pole Permanent Shadows
David Everett--LRO Overview
9
North Pole Permanent Shadows
David Everett--LRO Overview
10
Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation
(CRaTER) Instrument Team
Name
Institution
Role
Harlan E. Spence
BU
PI
Larry Kepko
BU
Co-I (E/PO, Cal, IODA lead)
Justin Kasper
MIT
Co-I (Project Sci.)
Bernie Blake
Aerospace
Co-I (Detector lead)
Joe Mazur
Aerospace
Co-I (GCR/SCR lead)
Larry Townsend
UT Knoxville
Co-I (Measurement lead)
Michael Golightly
AFRL
Collaborator
Terry Onsager
NOAA/SEC
Collaborator
Rick Foster
MIT
Project Manager
Bob Goeke
MIT
Systems Engineer
Brian Klatt
MIT
Q&A
Chris Sweeney
BU
Instrument Test Lead
David Everett--LRO Overview
11
CRaTER Instrument Overview
David Everett--LRO Overview
12
CRaTER Telescope Configuration
Five-element detector stack with volumes of TEP
sandwiched between them
David Everett--LRO Overview
13
Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE)
Instrument Team
Name
Institution
Role
David Paige
UCLA
PI
Carlton Allen
UCLA
Co-Investigator
Simon Calcutt
Oxford (UK)
Co-Investigator
Eric DeJong
JPL
Co-Investigator
Bruce Jakosky
Univ. of Colorado
Co-Investigator
Daniel McCleese
JPL
Co-Investigator
Bruce Murray
Caltech
Co-Investigator
Tim Schofield
JPL
Co-Investigator
Kelly Snook
JSC
Co-Investigator
Larry Soderblom
USGS
Co-Investigator
Fred Taylor
Oxford (UK)
Co-Investigator
Ashwin Vasavada
JPL
Co-Investigator
Wayne Hartford
JPL
Project Manager
David Everett--LRO Overview
14
Diviner Measurement Overview
Measurement Goals:
• Map Global Day/Night Surface Temperatures
• Characterize Thermal Environments for Habitability
• Determine Rock Abundances at Landing Sites
• Identify Potential Polar Ice Reservoirs
• Search for Near-Surface and Exposed Ice Deposits
Measurement Approach:
• 9-channel radiometer (0.3 to 200 micron wavelength range)
• 250m spatial resolution
Diviner will make precise radiometric temperature
measurements of the Lunar surface
David Everett--LRO Overview
15
Diviner Heritage
Diviner is a nearly build to print copy of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
(MRO) Mars Climate Sounder (MCS)
MCS Integrated with MRO for August 2005
Launch
MCS Flight Model at JPL
David Everett--LRO Overview
16
Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP)
Instrument Team
Name
Institution
Role
Alan Stern
SwRI
PI
Ron Black
SwRI
Instrument
Manager
Dana Crider
Catholic
University
Paul Feldman
JHU
Randy Gladstone
SwRI
Kurt Wetherford
SwRI
John Scherrer
SwRI
Dave Slater
SwRI
John Stone
SwRI
David Everett--LRO Overview
17
LAMP Science/Measurement
• LAMP will provide landform mapping (from Lyman
 albedos) at sub-km resolution in and around the
permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of the lunar
surface.
• LAMP will be used to identify and localize exposed
water frost in PSRs.
• LAMP will demonstrate the feasibility of using
starlight and sky-glow for future surface mission
applications.
• LAMP will detect (or better constrain) the
abundances of several atmospheric species.
David Everett--LRO Overview
18
LAMP Heritage
LAMP is almost identical to New Horizons Alice
LAMP:
5.0 kg, 4.3 W
0.2º×6.0º slit
1200-1800 Å bandpass
<20 Å spectral resolution
David Everett--LRO Overview
19
Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND)
Instrument Team
Name
Institution
Role
Igor Mitrofanov
Russian Institute for Space Research
Principal Investigator
William Boynton
University of Arizona
Co-Investigator
Larry Evans
Computer Sciences Corporation
Co-Investigator
Alexandr Kozyrev
Russian Institute for Space Research
Co-Investigator
Maxim Litvak
Russian Institute for Space Research
Co-Investigator
Roald Sagdeev
University of Maryland
Co-Investigator
Anton Sanin
Russian Institute for Space Research
Co-Investigator
Vladislav Shevchenko
Sternberg Astronomical Institute
Co-Investigator
Valery Shvetsov
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
Co-Investigator
Richard Starr
Catholic University
Co-Investigator
Vlad Tret’yakov
Russian Institute for Space Research
Co-Investigator
Jakob Trombka
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Co-Investigator
David Everett--LRO Overview
20
LEND Measurement Goals
David Everett--LRO Overview
21
LEND Instrument Concept
Block Diagram
E
A
A – Collimated Sensors
B – Sensors of Thermal
Neutrons for Doppler Filter
D
C – Sensors of Thermal Neutrons
D – Sensor of Epithermal Neutrons
E – Sensor of High Energy Neutrons
David Everett--LRO Overview
22
Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)
Instrument Team
Name
Institution
Role
David E. Smith
GSFC
PI; global geodetic coordinate system
Maria T. Zuber
MIT
Deputy PI; global topography & coordination
of data products with NASA Exploration
objectives
Oded Aharonson
Caltech
Co-I; surface roughness
James W. Head
Brown University
Co-I; landing site assessment, E&PO
representative
Frank G. Lemoine
NASA/GSFC
Co-I; orbit determination and gravity modeling
Gregory A. Neumann
MIT, NASA/GSFC
Co-I; altimetry analysis and archiving
Xiaoli Sun
NASA/GSFC
Co-I & Instrument Scientist; instrument
performance
David Everett--LRO Overview
23
LOLA Measurements
LOLA makes 3 measurements:
(1) range to the surface, (2) spread of the laser pulse, (3) reflectance of the surface
LOLA Measurements
LRO Measurement
Datasets
Lunar Shape, Surface
Topography Slopes
Surface
Surface
Roughness Reflectance
Global
Coord.
System
Gravity
Model
Precision
Orbit,
Trajectory
Radiation
Global topography
X
X
X
X
X
X
Image shadow regions
X
X
X
X
X
X
Wate r ice
X
X
X
Hydrogen mapping
Temperature mapping
Lander scale ma pping
Polar illumination
•
X
X
X
X
X
X
LOLA Lineage
–
–
–
–
–
GLAS
SLA
MOLA
MLA
Clementine
David Everett--LRO Overview
24
What Does LOLA Have To Do?
1.
Measure the distance between the spacecraft
and the surface which, along with the
spacecraft position, will allow precise
measurements of the lunar shape.
2.
Lay down a laser spot pattern that will
provide altimetry measurements along- and
across-track to enable the surface slope to be
derived for safe landing.
3.
Measure the distribution of elevation within
the laser footprint for estimation of surface
roughness (rock size)
4.
Identify regions of enhanced surface
reflectance that might indicate the presence
of water ice on the surface.
David Everett--LRO Overview
25
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC)
Instrument Team
Name
Institution
Mark Robinson, PI
Northwestern University
Eric Eliason
University of Arizona
Harald Hiesinger
Brown University
Brad Joliff
Washington University
Mike Malin
Malin Space Science Systems
Alfred McEwen
University of Arizona
Mike Ravine
Malin Space Science Systems
Peter Thomas
Cornell University
Elizabeth Turtle
University of Arizona
Clementine Star Tracker Camera
David Everett--LRO Overview
26
LROC Measurement Objectives
• Landing site identification and certification, with
unambiguous identification of meter-scale hazards
• Unambiguous mapping of permanent shadows and sunlit
regions
• Meter-scale mapping of polar regions with continuous
illumination
• Overlapping observations to enable derivation of meter-scale
topography
• Global multispectral imaging to map ilmenite and other
minerals
• Global morphology base map
• Characterize regolith properties
• Determine current impact hazard by re-imaging 1-2 m/pixel
Apollo images
David Everett--LRO Overview
27
LROC Instrument Overview
• 2 Narrow Angle Components
(NACs) for Landing Site
Certification
LROC
• Wide Angle Component to
Monitor Polar Lighting and Map
Resources
• Sequence and Compressor
System
• Straightforward modifications
from previous flight instruments
WAC
David Everett--LRO Overview
NAC1
NAC2
SCS
28
Mini RF Instrument Team
Name
Institution
Role
Paul Spudis
Johns Hopkins University APL
Principal Investigator
Chris Lichtenberg
Naval Air Warfare Center
Co-Investigator
Keith Raney
Johns Hopkins University APL
Co-Investigator
Benjamin Bussey
Johns Hopkins University APL
Co-Investigator
Brian Butler
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Co-Investigator
Mark Robinson
Northwestern University
Co-Investigator
John Curlander
Vexcel
Member
Mark Davis
USAF/Rome Laboratory
Member
Erik Malaret
Applied Coherent Technology
Member
Michael Mishchenko
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Member
Tommy Thompson
NASA/JPL
Member
Eugene Ustinov
NASA/JPL
Member
David Everett--LRO Overview
29
Mini-RF Spiral Development
DoD
NASA
TacSat FY 09
International
LRO FY 08
Chandrayaan-1 FY 07
(Forerunner)
David Everett--LRO Overview
30
Possible Mini-RF Lunar Demonstrations
SAR Imaging (Monostatic and Bistatic)
Chandrayaan-1
Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter (LRO)
Chandrayaan-1
LRO
Monostatic imaging in S-band to locate and
resolve ice deposits on the Moon.
Monostatic imaging in S-band and X-band to
validate ice deposits discoveries on the Moon
Communications Demonstrations
X-Band Comm Demo
Component Qualification
Coordinated, bistatic imaging in S-band, to
be compatible with the Chandrayaan-1 and
LRO spacecraft, can unambiguously resolve
ice deposits on the Moon
Other Coordinated Tech Demos: e.g ranging,
rendezvous, gravity
LRO
Communications
demonstration to
Various Assets
David Everett--LRO Overview
31
4 Days to the Moon
David Everett--LRO Overview
32
(M)
Trajectory/Orbit Overview
Minimum Energy Lunar Transfer: ~ 4 days
30 x 216 km Quasi-frozen Orbit: up to 60 days
Lunar Orbit Insertion Sequence (4): 2-4 days
50 km Polar Mapping Orbit: at least 1 year
David Everett--LRO Overview
33
Payload Overview
CRaTER
Diviner
LAMP
LOLA
LROC
Mini-RF
LEND
+X
+Z
+Y
David Everett--LRO Overview
34
LRO Deployed
HGA
Diviner
ST
3 PANEL MODULAR
SOLAR ARRAY
ST
Mini-RF
PROPULSION
MODULE
LOLA
THRUST
LROC
X
Diviner
SUN
Y
David Everett--LRO Overview
Z
MOON
35
LRO Deployed
CRaTER
INSTRUMENT MODULE
(OPTICAL BENCH)
AVIONICS
MODULE
HGA
LEND
Mini-RF
THRUST
X
Y
SUN
3 PANEL MODULAR
SOLAR ARRAY
Z
MOON
David Everett--LRO Overview
36
Launch Vehicle Configuration
ATLAS V , DELTA-IV Interfaces
1194 mm PAF
Worst Case EELV
Fairing Envelope
(4m fairing)
Fairing Access – 3 Doors
T-zero GN2 Purge System
Two 61 Pin Umbilical Connectors
Add X axis view (top down)
1194 mm PAF
David Everett--LRO Overview
37
Spacecraft Electrical Overview
Omnis
Mini-RF
Low-Rate
Cmds & Tlm
LROC
S-Xpndr
SpaceWire Network
LAMP
Hi-Rate
Tlm
HGA
Ka-Xmtr
LAMP Sci. & HK
ATA
20MHz
LOLA
USO 9500
C&DH
DDA
Thermistors
Closed Loop
Htrs
ST(2)
HGA
Gimbals
LEND
Diviner
GIMBAL
CONROL
IRW(4)
CSS(10)
Unsw. + 28V
IMU
MIL-STD-1553 Network
CRaTER
Battery
Solar
Array
SA
Gimbals
Sw. and
Unsw.
+28V Pwr
Services
PSE
PDE
Propulsion
SA & HG
Deploy
Actuation
GIMBAL
CONTROL
Vehicle
Separation
Break Wires
David Everett--LRO Overview
38
LRO Data Generation
David Everett--LRO Overview
39
(M)
Narrow FOV Coverage
1-month
2-month
10
100
9
90
8
80
Grid Spacing (m)
Grid Spacing (km)
LOLA
7
6
5
Equator
4
3
2
Full
1
4-month
70
8-month
88.5°
60
Minimum
50
40
89.0°
Full
30
20
89.5°
10
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Months of Data Collection (months)
Months of Data Collection (months)
David Everett--LRO Overview
40