Preparing for delivery of the Lunar Ice Cube compact IR spectrometer payload

Pamela E. Clark; B. Malphrus; K. Brown; N. Fite; J. Schabert; R. Mikula; S. McNeil; Cliff Brambora; T. Hewagama; N. Gorius; G. Young; D. Patel; T. Hurford; David Folta; D. Mason

doi:10.1117/12.2568027

22 August 2020 Preparing for delivery of the Lunar Ice Cube compact IR spectrometer payload

Pamela E. Clark, B. Malphrus, K. Brown, N. Fite, J. Schabert, R. Mikula, S. McNeil, Cliff Brambora, T. Hewagama, N. Gorius, G. Young, D. Patel, T. Hurford, David Folta, D. Mason

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Proceedings Volume 11505, CubeSats and SmallSats for Remote Sensing IV; 115050J (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2568027
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

Lunar Ice Cube, scheduled to be launched on ARTEMIS I in late 2021, is a deep space cubesat mission with the goals of demonstrating 1) a cubesat-scale instrument (BIRCHES) capable of addressing NASA HEOMD Strategic Knowledge Gaps related to lunar volatile distribution (abundance, location, and transportation physics of water ice), and 2) cubesat propulsion, via the Busek BIT 3 RF Ion engine. The mission will also demonstrate the AIM/IRIS microcryocooler for the first time in deep space. BIRCHES integration is nearly complete, with several changes made to the thermal design to improve detector performance. Final preflight instrument testing and calibration, our ongoing concern to be emphasized here, have been delayed due to the mandated closure rules of NASA facilities. Lunar Ice Cube, along with two other cubesats deployed from ARTEMIS I, Lunar Flashlight and LunaH-Map, will be the first deep cubesat missions to deliver science data to the Planetary Data System.

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Pamela E. Clark, B. Malphrus, K. Brown, N. Fite, J. Schabert, R. Mikula, S. McNeil, Cliff Brambora, T. Hewagama, N. Gorius, G. Young, D. Patel, T. Hurford, David Folta, and D. Mason "Preparing for delivery of the Lunar Ice Cube compact IR spectrometer payload", Proc. SPIE 11505, CubeSats and SmallSats for Remote Sensing IV, 115050J (22 August 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2568027

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