| Near-IR Spectrometer (SIR-2) |
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| Scientific Objectives: |
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| SIR-2 will address the surface-related aspects of lunar science in the following broad categories:
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| Analyse the lunar surface in various geological/mineralogical and topographical units; |
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| Study the vertical variation in composition of crust; |
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| Investigate the process of basin, maria and crater formation on the Moon; |
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| Explore “Space Weathering” processes of the lunar surface; |
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| Survey mineral lunar resources for future landing sites and exploration. |
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The determination of the chemical composition of a planet’s crust and mantle is one of the important goals of planetary research. Diagnostic absorption bands of various minerals and ices, which are expected to be found on the surfaces of planetary bodies, are located in the near-IR range, thus making near-infrared measurements of rocks, particularly, suitable for identifying minerals.
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| Payload Configuration Details: |
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| SIR-2 is a grating NIR point spectrometer working in the 0.93-2.4 microns wavelength range with 6 nm spectral resolution. It collects the Sun’s light reflected by the Moon with the help of a main and a secondary mirror. This light is fed through an optical fiber to the instrument’s sensor head, where it is reflected off a dispersion grating. The dispersed light reaches a detector, which consists of a row of photosensitive pixels that measure the intensity as a function of wavelength and produces an electronic signal, which is read out and processed by the experiment’s electronics.
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| The mass of the instrument is 3.3 kg and the instrument unit dimension is 260 mm x 171 mm x 143 mm. |
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SIR-2 is developed by the Max-Planck-Institute for Solar System Science, through the Max-Planck Society, Germany and ESA |
| For Further Infomation: |
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| Max-Plank Society website: |
| http://www.mps.mpg.de/projects/sir/ |
