LEOS: Lunar Environmental Observation Station A TRL 6 Payload for the Lunar South Pole

The primary objective of the Lunar Environmental Observation Station (LEOS) is to measure surface parameters on the Lunar Surface, much like a weather station on Earth. The data LEOS will provide is temperature, light (UV and PAR), ionizing radiation (neutral and charged), and images from cameras. The LEOS station is at TRL6. All of the LEOS sensors are COTS that have passed Thermal Vacuum (-55oC to + 80oC at 10-6 torr) and GEVS vibration of 14.1G or have flown in Low Earth Orbit. Models predict the values for temperature, light, and radiation on the lunar surface but there are no sensors or instruments that have measured these parameters on the Moon. Data from the LEOS provides information of potential risks to a crewed mission prior to their arrival. The following sensors are included in the LEOS station: 1) PAR Photosynthetically Active Radiation light sensor. 2) Black Body Globe (Radiative flux, temperature. 3. Ultraviolet light sensor 4. CNP-TEPC- Ionizing Radiation. 5. Camera- visual images. LEOS mass is ~ 5kg.

The sensors were mounted on a ½-inch aluminum plate for Thermal Vacuum (Tvac) testing and a ½-inch aluminum plate for GEVS flight qualification vibration tests at 14.1G. Because these are Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) sensors, they were not designed for use in the space environment. Our first step was a 72-hour bake-out at70oC to ensure the commercial wiring would not harm the vacuum chamber. The sensors survived the bake-out and were placed in the thermal vacuum chamber for 10 days and a vacuum of 10-6 torr oscillating from -50o C up to + 80o C each 24-hour cycle. All of the sensors survived and operated at the extreme temperatures exposed in Tvac. After successful completion of Tvac testing, the sensors were mounted onto a circular aluminum plate mounted onto the Vibration table. The instruments were turned on before and after each axis rotation (Z, X, and Y) table shook in each axis for approximately 1 min at 14.1G. All of the sensors nominally operated after each axis resulting in a successful vibe test and the flight qualification of COTS environmental sensors. The poster describes each of the sensors and the respective measurements.