Speaker
Mr
Thomas Walker
(Brunel University)
Description
The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) was launched onboard the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission in October 2008. The instrument consisted of 24 swept-charge device (SCD) silicon X-ray detectors providing a total collecting area of ~24 cm2, corresponding to a 14° field of view (FWHM), with the ability to measure X-rays from 0.8 - 10 keV. One algorithm used to analyse C1XS flight data has been developed at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) to convert the raw X-ray flux data into elemental ratios and abundances to make geological interpretations about the lunar surface. Laboratory X-ray fluorescence (XRF) data were used to validate the RAL algorithm, with previous studies investigating how the measured XRF flux varies with target surface characteristics including grain size and roughness. Evidence for a grain-size effect was observed in the data, the XRF line intensity generally decreasing with increasing sample grain size, dependent on the relative abundance of elemental components, as well as physical sample characteristics. This paper presents a subsequent study using more homogeneous samples made from mixtures of MgO, Al2O3, SiO2 and Fe2O3 powders, all of grain size <75 m, across a broader range of mixture ratios and at a higher level of X-ray flux data in order to further validate the RAL algorithm. For the majority of the C1XS data analysed so far with the RAL algorithm, the corresponding lunar ground tracks have been generally basaltic, laboratory verification of the algorithm having been conducted using basaltic lunar regolith simulant (JSC-1A) data. This paper also presents results from tests on a terrestrial anorthosite sample, more relevant to the anorthositic lunar highlands, from where the remaining C1XS dataset derives. The operation of the SCD, the XRF test facility, sample preparation and collected XRF spectra are discussed in this paper.
Preferred medium (Oral/poster)
Oral
Author
Mr
Thomas Walker
(Brunel University)
Co-author
Dr
David Smith
(Brunel University)
