An autonomous lunar geophysical experiment package (ALGEP) for future space missions

Taichi Kawamura , Matthias Grott , Raphael Garcia (1) , Mark Wieczorek (2) , Sébastien de Raucourt (3) , Philippe Lognonné (3) , Felix Bernauer , Doris Breuer , John Clinton , Pierre Delage (4) , Mélanie Drilleau (1) , Luigi Ferraioli , Nobuaki Fuji (3) , Anna Horleston , Günther Kletetschka , Martin Knapmeyer , Brigitte Knapmeyer-Endrun , Sebastiano Padovan , Ana-Catalina Plesa , Attilio Rivoldini , Johan Robertsson , Sebastien Rodriguez (3) , Simon C. Stähler , Eleonore Stutzmann (3) , Nicholas A. Teanby , Nicola Tosi , Christos Vrettos , Bruce Banerdt , Wenzhe Fa , Qian Huang , Jessica Irving , Yoshiaki Ishihara , Katarina Miljković , Anna Mittelholz , Seiichi Nagihara , Clive Neal , Shaobo Qu , Nicholas Schmerr , Takeshi Tsuji

1 ISAE-SUPAERO - Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace
2 OCA - Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur
3 IPGP (UMR_7154) - Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
4 ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech

Geophysical observations will provide key information about the inner structure of the planets and satellites and understanding the internal structure is a strong constraint on the bulk composition and thermal evolution of these bodies. Thus, geophysical observations are a key to uncovering the origin and evolution of the Moon. In this article, we propose the development of an autonomous lunar geophysical experiment package, composed of a suite of instruments and a central station with standardized interface, which can be installed on various future lunar missions. By fixing the interface between instruments and the central station, it would be possible to easily configure an appropriate experiment package for different missions. We describe here a series of geophysical instruments that may be included as part of the geophysical package: a seismometer, a magnetometer, a heat flow probe, and a laser reflector. These instruments will provide mechanical, thermal, and geodetic parameters of the Moon that are strongly related to the internal structure. We discuss the functionality required for future geophysical observations of the Moon, including the development of the central station that will be used commonly by different payloads.

Keywords: Moon; Geophysics; Lunar exploration

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]

Taichi Kawamura, Matthias Grott, Raphael Garcia, Mark Wieczorek, Sébastien de Raucourt, et al.. An autonomous lunar geophysical experiment package (ALGEP) for future space missions. Experimental Astronomy, 2022, ⟨10.1007/s10686-022-09857-6⟩. ⟨insu-03748537⟩