UK Moon camera ready for action

The C1XS instrument, a sophisticated X-ray camera developed by STFC's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and ISRO, is in full working order and ready to start mapping the composition of the lunar surface after its journey to the moon on board India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.

Measurements taken using the C1XS internal calibration sources have now been compared with pre-launch calibration data. The comparisons showed that all 24 detectors are performing as expected. Inspection of the housekeeping data also showed no anomalies.

Following these tests the instrument door was opened and data collected from both the sunlit and dark sides of the Moon. The plot shows two spectra generated from all 24 detectors.

Mr Barry Kellett, instrument scientist, said, "The really pleasing thing is that the two lines match so perfectly. The data is 100% consistent with the expected particle background we previously measured during the SMART-1 mission. The first peak is 100 eV wide which shows that the detectors are all in excellent working order.

Mr Chris Howe, C1XS Chief Engineer, said "The commissioning went very well; the ISRO team allocated us spacecraft time when we needed it and got the instrument data to us very quickly."

The excellent spectral resolution that the C1XS instrument demonstrated during ground measurements has now been replicated in lunar orbit. There is now a real sense of excitement within the C1XS team at the prospect of acquiring their first real X-ray spectra from the Moon during a solar active time.

 

Source: Science and Technology Facilities Council
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