Publisher:Pasadena, CA : Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2005.
Citation:IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, Montana, March 5-12, 2005.
Abstract:
The Apollo and Russian missions during 1970’s were reviewed to rediscover the type and distribution of minerals on the Moon. This study revealed that the Moon is a relatively barren place in mineral content when compared with the Earth. Results from the Lunar minerals brought back to Earth, indicate that the Moon lacks water, hydroxyl ions, and carbon based minerals. Our approach to prospecting utilizes a vehicle with sensors embedded in a wheel that allow measurements while the
vehicle is in motion. Once a change in soil composition is detected, decision making software stops the vehicle and analytical instruments perform a more definitive analysis of the soil. The focus of this paper is to describe the
instrumentation and data from the wheel-based sensors.