ALRAD - an infrared Radiometer to explore Lunar mare pits

Kurzfassung

Circular depressions in the lunar mare were observed by SELENE and LRO and are potential openings to lava tubes. The walls of these pits show layers of exposed lunar bedrock, potentially lava flows. The pits are furthermore potential habitats for long-term astronautical bases. Mission concepts like Arne aim at investigating these pits by flying in and out with a reconnaissance vehicle. Here we describe the Arne Lunar RADiometer (ALRAD) as an infrared payload to such a mission. ALRAD uses thermopile sensors to measure the net radiative flux in the thermal infrared wavelength range. Its sensor head carries six thermopile sensors, equipped with individual IR-filters. The instrument design is based on the miniRAD and LRAD radiometers of the MMX IDEFIX rover and the Intuitive Machines Athena (IM-2) hopper, respectively.