Effects of varying environmental conditions on emissivity spectra of bulk lunar soils: Application to Diviner thermal infrared observations of the Moon

Abstract

Currently, few thermal infrared measurements exist of fine particulate (<63 µm) analogue samples (e.g. minerals, mineral mixtures, rocks, meteorites, and lunar soils) measured under simulated lunar conditions. Such measurements are fundamental for interpreting thermal infrared (TIR) observations by the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (Diviner) onboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter as well as future TIR observations of the Moon and other airless bodies. In this work, we present thermal infrared emissivity measurements of a suite of well-characterized Apollo lunar soils and a fine particulate (<25 µm) San Carlos olivine sample as we systematically vary parameters that control the near-surface environment in our vacuum chamber (atmospheric pressure, incident solar-like radiation, and sample cup temperature). The atmospheric pressure is varied between ambient (1000mbar) and vacuum (<10−3mbar) pressures, the incident solar-like radiation is varied between 52 and 146mW/cm2, and the sample cup temperature is varied between 325 and 405K. Spectral changes are characterized as each parameter is varied, which highlight the sensitivity of thermal infrared emissivity spectra to the atmospheric pressure and the incident solar-like radiation. Finally spectral measurements of Apollo 15 and 16 bulk lunar soils are compared with Diviner thermal infrared observations of the Apollo 15 and 16 sampling sites. This comparison allows us to constrain the temperature and pressure conditions that best simulate the near-surface environment of the Moon for future laboratory measurements and to better interpret lunar surface compositions as observed by Diviner.