The Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper (LunaH-Map) CubeSat Mission
- Paper number
IAC-16,A3,2A,7,x32804
- Coauthor
Ms. Hannah Kerner, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Craig Hardgrove, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Jim Bell, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Robert Amzler, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Alessandra Babuscia, Jet Propulsion Laboratory - California Institute of Technology, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Zach Burnham, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Kar-Ming Cheung, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. James Christian, Radiation Monitoring Devices, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Anthony Colaprete, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Ahmet Deran, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Darrell Drake, Techsource, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. David Dunham, Kinetx, Inc., United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Anthony Genova, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Austin Godber, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Erik Johnson, Radiation Monitoring Devices, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Andrew Klesh, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Igor Lazbin, Arizona Space Technologies, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Jack Lightholder, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Derek Nelson, Kinetx, Inc., United States
- Coauthor
Prof. Mark Robinson, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Paul Scowen, Arizona State University, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Richard Starr, The Catholic University of America, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Gates West, Arizona Space Technologies, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Bobby Williams, Kinetx, Inc., United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Paul Wren, Department of Space Studies, University of North Dakota, United States
- Year
2016
- Abstract
The Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper (LunaH-Map) is a 6U CubeSat mission selected by the NASA Science Mission Directorate as part of the Small, Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program. LunaH-Map will fly as a secondary payload on the first Exploration Mission (EM-1) of the Space Launch System (SLS), scheduled to launch in July 2018. This mission is led by a small team of researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates at Arizona State University in collaboration with NASA centers, JPL, universities, and commercial space businesses. The LunaH-Map mission will map hydrogen abundances at spatial scales below 10 km to understand how volatiles are distributed in the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole. LunaH-Map’s scientific payload is designed to use the scintillator material Cs$_2$YLiCl$_6$:Ce (``CLYC``) in a pair of neutron detectors to measure count rates of thermal and epithermal neutrons indicating the location and abundance of hydrogen as it flies over the surface. While this detector system is being designed for LunaH-Map, it can be accommodated or modified to fit on any 6U CubeSat platform. LunaH-Map will be propelled by a low-thrust ion propulsion system to achieve lunar orbit insertion within $\sim$12 months of SLS separation, then maneuver into a highly elliptical, low-perilune orbit of 5-10 km centered around the south pole. Although measurements of hydrogen abundance ($\sim$1 wt.$\%$ levels) can be detected in a single fly-by with the CubeSat-sized neutron detector being developed for LunaH-Map, the mission will achieve over 140 low-altitude fly-bys of the South Pole during its two-month science phase. LunaH-Map is designed to demonstrate that a significant scientific measurement can be achieved by a CubeSat-sized spacecraft---a high-risk, high-reward platform for enhancing planetary missions and furthering our understanding of the solar system and universe. LunaH-Map and two fellow secondary payloads selected by NASA to fly on SLS EM-1 will be the first CubeSats to explore the Moon and interplanetary space.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
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