Tunable Mid-Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging Lidar for 4D Volatile Mapping

Goals and Objectives In permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) on the Moon, surface ice has almost certainly been detected, but its distribution and abundance are poorly understood. Detection limits range from 1 to 30 % and the distribution of ice cannot be associated with any specific geologic feature or process, including surface temperature. The presence of contemporary surface ice at the poles despite significant loss mechanisms suggests an active water cycle is ongoing that redistributes and replenishes polar deposits. There is no verified method of predicting the presence or absence of ice based on existing data, which prevents the validation or disproval of hypotheses related to the sources and the delivery and destruction mechanisms of polar volatiles. Water has been the main volatile ice of interest due to its vital role in many important chemical and physical processes. However, other volatiles can act as markers indicative of different volatile sources, such as high abundances of S and N-bearing species relative to C-bearing species being indicative of a cometary origin. Our objective is to develop a widely tunable mid-infrared spectroscopic lidar to perform 4D reflectance experiments regardless of illumination, with the sensitivity to map the abundances of critical lunar volatiles including H2O, CO2, NH3, and H2S at kilometer ranges from the observation site. Each measurement will include a position (X,Y) in the field of view, a time of flight (range), and a reflectance value. The goal of this work is to increase the TRL of the instrument from TRL 2 to TRL 4. Proposed specific tasks include building the spectrometric receiver, performing gated imaging at a range of 1.5 km, and performing system tests over the entire wavelength range of icy lunar simulants under cryogenic vacuum conditions. Approach and Methodology Our tunable lidar design is based on three complementary technologies: an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) laser, an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF), and a gated imaging HgCdTe APD camera. The tunable OPO laser uses a novel fan-out non-linear crystal to enable wavelength tuning between 2 and 4 microns in wavelength. This laser tuning is matched by the tuning of the AOTF, which enables optimum system throughput and laser photon efficiency by using all detector pixels for every laser wavelength. The HgCdTe APD camera is single photon sensitive and operates with high quantum efficiency over the spectral range from the visible to 4.3 microns. By gating the camera, signals are integrated only when the laser pulses illuminate the scene, which greatly improves the measurement signal to noise ratio. Moving the gate time away from the laser pulses enables passive reflectance measurements using the same system. Relevance Our work is relevant to the PICASSO solicitation in that it addresses priority science goals for the Moon as outlined in Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022. Specifically, this instrument would provide new measurements informing the extent and origin of polar volatile deposits as well their composition and meter-scale distribution. Our technology would provide valuable surface spectroscopic measurements in other planetary applications with challenging illumination conditions. These include diurnal and seasonal cycles of cometary surfaces, where solar insolation drives volatile ice deposition, sublimation, and redistribution as well as generation of the gaseous coma and tail.

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