The Neutral Mass Spectrometer on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Mission

Mahaffy, P. R.; Hodges, R. R.; Benna, M.; King, Todd; Arvey, Robert; Barciniak, Michael; Bendt, Mirl; Carigan, Daniel; Errigo, Therese; Harpold, Daniel; Holmes, Vincent; Johnson, Christopher; Kellogg, James; Kimvilakani, Patrick; Lefavor, Matthew; Hengemihle, Jerome; Jaeger, F.; Lyness, Eric; Maurer, John; Nguyen, Daniel H.; Nolan, Thomas; Noreiga, Felix; Noriega, Marvin; Patel, Kiran; Prats, Benito; Quinones, Omar; Raaen, E.; Tan, Florence; Weidner, Edwin; Woronowicz, Michael S.; Gundersen, Cynthia; Battel, Steven; Block, Bruce; Arnett, Ken; Miller, Ryan; Cooper, Curt; Edmonson, Charles

doi:10.1007/s11214-014-0043-9

Cited by 55 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Mahaffy et al, 2014]. The ordinate is the average data count from 15 sequential, 247 ms, integration periods, each corrected for the effect of the steady rise of ion source temperature on inviscid gas equilibrium in the instrument [cf.…”

Section: Evidence Of Exospheric Methanementioning

confidence: 99%

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Methane in the lunar exosphere: Implications for solar wind carbon escape

Hodges

2016

Geophysical Research Letters

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A positive identification of methane in the lunar exosphere has been made in data from the neutral mass spectrometer on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft. Like argon‐40, methane is adsorbed on the lunar surface during nighttime. However, higher activation energies for methane delay its desorption at sunrise by about an hour local time, creating a postsunrise bulge with peak concentration of approximately 400–450 molecules cm−3 at a reference altitude of 12 km, which is just above the highest topographic feature on the Moon. The rate of escape of carbon as methane derived from the LADEE data is estimated to be in the range 1.5–4.5 × 1021 s−1. A lower bound for solar carbon escape derived separately from Apollo sample analyses is 3.4 × 1021 s−1.

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Section: Evidence Of Exospheric Methanementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The possibility of exospheric escape of solar carbon from the Moon was explored by Hodges [1976]. Elphic et al, 2014;Mahaffy et al, 2014]. Elphic et al, 2014;Mahaffy et al, 2014].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane in the lunar exosphere: Implications for solar wind carbon escape

Hodges

2016

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…The NMS was also to be operated in an "Ion Scan Mode" where the aperture was directed towards the Moon's North or South Pole and held there for the duration of a portion of an orbit. More details on NMS can be found at [11].…”

Section: Neutral Mass Spectrometer (Nms) -The Ladee Neutralmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operating LADEE: Mission architecture, challenges, anomalies, and successes

D'Ortenzio

Bresina

Crocker

et al. 2015

2015 IEEE Aerospace Conference

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NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission was both a lunar science and a technology demonstration mission. The goals identified for LADEE were to determine the composition of the lunar atmosphere and investigate the processes that control its distribution and dynamics, and to determine whether dust is present in the lunar exosphere and reveal the processes that contribute to its sources and variability. LADEE was also developed to serve as a platform for the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD), which had the goal of demonstrating the viability of high-speed optical communication to and from the Moon. LADEE met all of these objectives by operating a robotic spacecraft in a low-altitude, near circular, near equatorial lunar orbit where remote sensing and in-situ instruments measured the Moon's atmosphere and dust environment, and the LLCD demonstrated optical communications at lunar distances. The spacecraft was launched in September of 2013, and spent approximately one month in a transfer orbit before being inserted into lunar orbit in October. It orbited the moon for 188 days, logging time over five lunar synodic months, i.e., "lunations", before being decommissioned via surface impact in April of 2014. LADEE exceeded its baseline mission duration by greater than 40% in terms of time in the science orbit, and greater than 200% in terms of science data return. This paper summarizes the LADEE mission architecture and describes the operational phase of the LADEE mission in detail. The combination of an aggressive science campaign, the demonstration of a new optical communications payload, and the first-use of a new low-cost spacecraft bus resulted in an operational phase filled with challenges, both planned and unplanned. We explain our approach to orbit determination, maneuver planning, attitude planning, activity planning and command sequencing, which yielded exceedingly positive results in the face of a demanding operational timeline consisting of hundreds of interleaved instrument and spacecraft activities. In addition, we discuss the team's identification of, and response to, several in-flight anomalies including a shutdown of the spacecraft's reaction wheels immediately following launch and an on-going unexpected behavior of the on-board star-tracker and attitude state estimation system. Finally, we reflect on the operations experience overall, the successes that LADEE enjoyed, and some suggestions for future lunar missions.

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“…In addition to UVS and the species it can measure (Table 1), the LADEE Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS) measured a number of neutral gases and ions which UVS could not detect, including a number of noble gases (e.g., He, Ne, and Ar), as well as measuring some gases and ions UVS could measure (e.g., Na, K, and OH) (Mahaffey et al 2014). Thus the UVS and NMS instruments were very complimentary.…”

Section: Lunar Exosphere: Theory and Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Mission (LADEE)

2015

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The Neutral Mass Spectrometer on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Mission

Cited by 55 publications

References 20 publications

Methane in the lunar exosphere: Implications for solar wind carbon escape

Methane in the lunar exosphere: Implications for solar wind carbon escape

Operating LADEE: Mission architecture, challenges, anomalies, and successes

The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Mission (LADEE)

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