Lunar ore geology and feasibility of ore mineral detection using a far-IR spectrometer

Frontiers in Earth Science

Earth Science

Mateusz Jozefowicz¹  Lukasz Sterczewski²  Jakub Ciazela³  Marta Ciazela³  Grzegorz Paslawski³  Dariusz Marciniak³  Maciej Fitt³  Bartosz Pieterek⁴  Adam Sniadkowski⁵  Natalia Zalewska⁶  Tomasz Mrozek⁶  Marek Steslicki⁶  Miroslaw Kowalinski⁶  Miroslaw Rataj⁶  Zaneta Szaforz⁶  Jaroslaw Bakala⁶ 

[1] European Space Foundation, Kraków, Poland;Faculty of Electronics, Photonics and Microsystems, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wrocław, Poland;Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland;Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland;SKA Polska, Warsaw, Poland;Space Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland;

关键词: sulfide;    oxide;    ilmenite;    ore deposit;    Moon;    far-IR spectroscopy;    helium-3;    MIRORES;   

DOI  :  10.3389/feart.2023.1190825

 received in 2023-03-21, accepted in 2023-07-10,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Lunar sulfides and oxides are a significant source of noble and base metals and will be vital for future human colonies’ self-sustainability. Sulfide detection (pyrite and troilite) applies to many technological fields and use cases, for example, as a raw material source (available in situ on the Lunar surface) for new solar panel production methods. Ilmenite is the primary iron and titanium ore on the Moon and can provide helium-3 for nuclear fusion and oxygen for rocket fuel. The most important ore minerals have prominent absorption peaks in a narrow far-infrared (FIR) wavelength range of 20–40 μm, much stronger than the spectral features of other common minerals, including significant silicates, sulfates, and carbonates. Our simulations based on the linear mixing of pyrite with the silicates mentioned above indicated that areas containing at least 10%–20% pyrite could be detected from the orbit in the FIR range. MIRORES, Multiplanetary far-IR ORE Spectrometer, proposed here, would operate with a resolution down to <5 m, enabling the detection of areas covered by 2–3 m2 of pyrite (or ilmenite) on a surface of ∼17 m2 from an altitude of 50 km, creating possibilities for detecting large and local smaller orebodies along with their stockworks. The use of the Cassegrain optical system achieves this capability. MIRORES will measure radiation in eight narrow bands (0.3 µm in width) that can include up to five bands centered on the ore mineral absorption bands, for example, 24.3, 24.9, 27.6, 34.2, and 38.8 µm for pyrite, marcasite, chalcopyrite, ilmenite, and troilite, respectively. The instrument size is 32 x 32 x 42 cm, and the mass is <10 kg, which fits the standard microsatellite requirements.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Ciazela, Bakala, Kowalinski, Pieterek, Steslicki, Ciazela, Paslawski, Zalewska, Sterczewski, Szaforz, Jozefowicz, Marciniak, Fitt, Sniadkowski, Rataj and Mrozek.