ILOX-A Small Visible Imager on the Lunar Surface (Abstract)

Volume 37 number 2 (2009)

Daniel O'Connor

Abstract

(Abstract only) The International Lunar Observatory Association has been invited to provide a piggyback science instrument to fly onboard Odyssey Moon’s attempt at the Google Lunar X-Prize. It is likely that the science instrument (ILOX) will be a 10-cm aperture visible imager (300 nm to 700 nm), 1,024 square pixels, with a 2.5 degree field of view. ILOX will have eight filter positions (two polarizers, six color filters) which will allow a variety of measurements to be performed. Total exposure time for ILOX will be < 1 Lunar Day (14 Earth days) from the lunar equator. Limiting magnitude is expected to be 12. We hope to measure the Earth’s short wave albedo, characterize the Earth’s polarization signature relative to solar phase angle, and possibly map ocean chlorophyll-a with 14 km resolution. We expect to investigate the lunar dust-lofting event associated with the lunar terminator as the terminator approaches ILOX. We will attempt to image a blazar jet in the visible and derive a power spectrum.