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Mauna Kea, Hawaii, as an Analog Site for Future Planetary
Resource Exploration: Results from the 2010
ILSO-ISRU Field-Testing Campaign
Inge L. ten Kate
1
; Rob Armstrong
2
; Bodo Bernhardt
3
; Mathias Blumers
4
; Jack Craft
5
; Dale Boucher
6
;
Eric Caillibot
7
; Janine Captain
8
; Gabriele Deleuterio
9
; Jack D. Farmer
10
; Daniel P. Glavin
11
; Trevor Graff
12
;
John C. Hamilton
13
; Göstar Klingelhöfer
14
; Richard V. Morris
15
; Jorge I. Nuñez
16
; Jacqueline W. Quinn
17
;
Gerald B. Sanders
18
; R. Glenn Sellar
19
; Leanne Sigurdson
20
; Ross Taylor
21
; and Kris Zacny, M.ASCE
22
Abstract: The major advances in knowledge of extraterrestrial bodies come from in situ measurements on robotized measuring devices
deployed by international space missions, for example, on the Moon and Mars. It is essential to test these instruments in environments on Earth
that bear a close resemblance to planetary conditions. Within the framework of the 2010 International Lunar Surface Operation In Situ Resource
Utilization (2010 ILSO-ISRU) Analog Test, a suite of scientific instruments developed for in situ lunar research was field tested and cali-
brated on the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii on January 27 to February 11, 2010. This site will be used as one of the future standard test sites
to calibrate instruments for in situ lunar research. In 2010, a total of eight scientific teams tested instrument capabilities at the test site. In this
paper, a geological setting for this new field-test site, a description of the instruments that were tested during the 2010 ILSO-ISRU field
campaign, and a short discussion of each instrument about the validity and use of the results obtained during the test are provided. These
results will serve as reference for future test campaigns. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000200.©2013 American Society of
Civil Engineers.
CE Database subject headings: Field tests; Planets; Space exploration.
Author keywords: Field testing; ILSO-ISRU; Planetary analog site; Instrument testing.
Introduction
Terrestrial analog environments are places on Earth with geological
and environmental characteristics that resemble those that exist on
an extraterrestrial body (Léveillé 2009). The purpose of using
these terrestrial analog sites for planetary missions can be divided
into the following four basic categories: (1) to learn about plan-
etary processes on Earth and elsewhere; (2) to test methodologies,
1
Visiting Research Scientist, Centre of Physics of Geological Processes,
Univ. of Oslo, Sem Sælands vei 24, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway; formerly,
Assistant Research Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD 20771, and Assistant Research Scientist, Goddard Earth
Science and Technology Center, Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County,
Baltimore, MD 21228 (corresponding author). E-mail: science@ingeloes.
com
2
Senior Software Developer, Neptec Design Group, 302 Legget Dr.,
Kanata, ON, Canada K2K 1Y5.
3
Diplom-Ingenieur, von Hoerner & Sulger GmbH, Schlossplatz 8,
D-68723 Schwetzingen, Germany.
4
MIMOS Hardware Specialist, Mars Mössbauer Group, AK Klin-
gelhöfer, Johannes Gutenberg Univ., D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
5
Manager, Exploration Technology Group, Honeybee Robotics, 460 W.
34th Street, New York, NY 10001.
6
Senior Director Innovation, Northern Centre for Advanced Technology
(NorCAT), 1545 Maley Drive, Sudbury, ON, Canada P3A 4R7.
7
Advanced Systems Engineer, Xiphos Technologies, 3981 St-Laurent
Boulevard, Suite 500, Montreal, QB, Canada H2W 1Y5.
8
Chemist, NASA Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899.
9
Professor, Univ. of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Toronto,
ON, Canada M3H 5T6.
10
Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State Univ.,
Tempeh, AZ 85287.
11
Research Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Green-
belt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771.
12
Planetary Scientist, Jacobs Technology, ESCG, P.O. Box 58447,
Houston, TX 77258-8447.
13
Deputy Director, Pacific Int. Space Center for Exploration Systems,
200 W. Kawili Street, Hilo, HI 96720.
14
Head of the MIMOS project, Mars Mössbauer Group, Institute of
Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg Univ.,
D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
15
Planetary Scientist, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Park-
way, Houston, TX 77058.
16
Ph.D. Student, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State
Univ., Tempeh, AZ 85287.
17
RESOLVE Payload Project Manager, NASA Kennedy Space Cen-
ter, Mailstop NE-S-2, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899.
18
In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Chief Engineer, Propulsion and Power
Division, NASA-Johnson Space Center, Mail Code EP3, Houston, TX 77058.
19
Optical Engineer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Tech-
nology, Mail Stop 306-392, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109.
20
Geotechnologist, Northern Centre for Advanced Technology (NorCAT),
1545 Maley Drive, Sudbury, ON, Canada P3A 4R7.
21
Algorithm Developer, Aerodyne Industries, NASA Johnson Space
Center, 2101 Nasa Parkway, Houston, TX 77058.
22
Vice President and Director, Exploration Technology Group, Honeybee
Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation, 398 W. Washington Blvd.,
Suite 200, Pasadena, CA 91103.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on July 20, 2011; approved on
January 9, 2012; published online on July 21, 2012. Discussion period
open until June 1, 2013; separate discussions must be submitted for
individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Aerospace Engi-
neering, Vol. 26, No. 1, January 1, 2013. ©ASCE, ISSN 0893-1321/2013/
1-183e196/$25.00.
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protocols, strategies, and technologies; (3) to train highly qualified
personnel, as well as science and operation teams; and (4) to engage
the public, space agencies, media, and educators (Lee 2007;Léveillé
2009).
Several of these environments are studied as Mars analogs, such
as the hyperarid regions of the Atacama Desert in Chile (Navarro-
González et al. 2003), the Antarctic Dry Valleys (Wentworth et al.
2005) and permafrost (Dickinson and Rosen 2003), the Rio Tinto
hydrothermal springs in Spain (Amils et al. 2007), and the Egyptian
desert (Heggy and Paillou 2006) (for an overview, see Léveillé
2009). An example of a lunar analog site is the Vredefort dome in
South Africa (Gibson et al. 2002). Other sites are selected based on
the ability to test a complete mission concept or plan, such as the
Lava Mountains, California (Hinze et al. 1967), and the volcanic
fields around Flagstaff, Arizona, for Apollo astronaut training (see
http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/About/AstroHistory/astronauts.html).
Long-term field testing campaigns with more permanent infra-
structures have also been established to provide a base for mul-
tidisciplinary field research as well in the development of new
technologies and operational strategies for planetary missions. These
include theHaughton-Mars Project Research Station at Devon Island,
Canada (Lee and Osinski 2005), the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard
Expedition (AMASE) at Svalbard, Norway (Steele et al. 2007),the
Pavilion Lake Research Project atPavilion and Kelly Lakes (Lim et al.
2009,2011), and the Pacific International Space Center for Explo-
ration Systems (PISCES) in Hawaii (Schowengerdt et al. 2007;Duke
et al. 2007).
In this paper, the focus is on the instrument testing activities at
the 2010 International Lunar Surface Operation In Situ Resource
Utilization (ILSO-ISRU) Analog Test (Sanders and Larson 2011)on
the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii. This campaign was coordinated
by the Northern Centre for Advanced Technology (NORCAT)
in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the
German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), through the PISCES program.
The primary reasons for selecting this site as a lunar analog were
the following:
1. Local material: The fine-grained, volcanic nature of the ma-
terial, tephra, is a suitable lunar analog, and can be used to
simulate excavation, site preparation, and oxygen extraction
techniques, with results that can be compared in a straightfor-
ward manner to laboratory tests.
2. Terrain: The location provides a large number of slopes, rock
avalanches, etc., to perform mobility tests in a very confined
area. Long-range traversing is not possible; however, all of the
testing was aimed at either site preparation or resource pro-
specting, and for the early tests the terrain variation was more
important than distance.
3. Logistics: The presence of a cafeteria, bedrooms, and me-
chanical shops within a few kilometers of the test site, and
access to the Hilo airport and infrastructure within only 2-h
driving distance helps to mitigate risk associated with field
logistics and operations.
4. Location: Hawaii is an accessible central location for multiple
space agencies including NASA, CSA, the Japanese Space
Agency, the Korean Space Agency, and other Pacific nation
space agencies, which facilitates wide international participa-
tion in field campaigns.
The ILSO-ISRU analog field campaign primarily focused on
hardware testing of technologies and systems related to resource
identification, extraction, storage, and utilization, with a small but
growing role designated for in situ science measurements. The pri-
mary goals of the campaign were the following:
1. Oxygen (O2) production from regolith;
2. ISRU product storage, distribution, and utilization;
3. Integration of lunar ISRU and scientific instruments;
4. Site preparation;
5. Field geology training; and
6. Field characterization by scientific instruments.
In this paper, a geological overview of this new field-test site and
a description of the instruments that were tested during the 2010
campaign are provided. The focus of this paper is on aforementioned
Goals 1, 4, and 6, using scientific instruments; further description of
the other goals of this campaign can be found in Sanders and Larson
(2011). The results are presented grouped per goal. First, the site
preparation, field characterization, and instruments used for this part
of the field testing are described. Then, the participation of the
scientific instruments in the oxygen production is described. This
paper will serve as reference for future ISRU field-testing campaigns
on Mauna Kea.
Geological Setting of Hawaii, Mauna Kea,
and the Pu’u Hiwahine Test Site
Hawaiian volcanism is sourced by a mantle plume (Wilson 1963);
i.e., a deep-seated magmatic source, likely generated at the core-
mantle boundary (Burke and Torsvik 2004)thatforthelast∼40
million years has been relatively stationary. Mantle plumes pro-
duce basaltic volcanoes on the overlying Pacific Plate in this area.
The northwest motion of the Pacific Plate continues to move the
volcanoes away from their source, leading to an array of extinct
volcanoes from the active volcanoes of modern Hawaii that in-
crease in age to the northwest along the Hawaiian-Emperor sea-
mount chain.
The test site was located on the Big Island of Hawaii. This area
contains five separate shield volcanoes that erupted somewhat se-
quentially, thus reflecting the continuing northwestward motion of
the Pacific Plate over the Hawaiian hotspot (Clague and Dalrymple
1987). From the oldest to the youngest, these are Kohala (extinct),
Mauna Kea (dormant), Hual
alai (active but not currently erupting),
Mauna Loa (active), and K
ilauea (active, erupting continuously
since 1983) (Wolfe et al. 1997).
Mauna Kea has a peak altitude of 4,205 m above sea level, or
10,200 m above the ocean floor, and is the southernmost of the eight
main islands of the Hawaiian Island Chain (Fig. 1). Mauna Kea is
approximately 1 million years old and last erupted approximately
4,500 years ago. Hawaiian volcanoes evolve through a sequence of
four eruptive stages (preshield, shield, postshield, and rejuvenated)
(Clague and Dalrymple 1987,1989), which are distinguished by lava
composition, eruptive rate and style, and stage of development. Mauna
Kea transitioned from shield to postshield stage 200,000e250,000
years ago. This postshield stage can be divided into two substages, the
postshield basaltic substage (240,000e70,000 years ago) and the
hawaiitic substage (66,000e4,000 years ago) (Frey et al. 1990), and
accumulates at a rate of approximately 0.004 km
3
/year (Wolfe et al.
1997). Postshield lavas are composed of more alkalic basalts (silica
undersaturated and relatively rich in sodium) than the shield-stage
basalt. Mauna Kea is the only volcano in the Hawaiian chain where
glacial till is found (Porter 1979), and depositsof three glacial episodes
from 150,000 to 200,000 years ago have been preserved; the oldest
two (at roughly 150,000 and 70,000 years ago) during the postshield
basaltic substage and the youngest (from approximately 40,000 to
13,000 years ago) during the postshield hawaiitic substage (Wolfe
et al. 1997). ThePu’u Hiwahine site, where thefield testing took place,
is a cinder cone located below the summit of Mauna Kea (19
45039.2900 N, 15528014.5600 W) at an elevation of ∼2,783 m (Fig. 1).
The site is operated by the PISCES.
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Basic Field Operations
The instruments used in this study form a representative set of in situ
instrumentation that could be included on a future lunar or Mars
mission to locate, extract, and identify resources in the near-surface
regolith. This instrument suite covered a wide range of measure-
ments and was comprised of a relative navigation vision system,
triangulation and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) (TriDAR);
a ground penetrating radar (GPR); a drill system to provide samples;
a multispectral microscopic imager (MMI); a miniaturized Möss-
bauer spectrometer (MIMOS II) and its advanced version MIMOS
IIA with additional X-ray fluorescence (XRF) capability; and two
volatile analyzers, volatile analysis by pyrolysis of regolith in-
strument (VAPoR) and the regolith and environment science and
oxygen and lunar volatile extraction instrument (RESOLVE). The
instruments used in the field were funded through NASA’s Moon,
Mars Analog Mission Activity (MMAMA) and Field Science
Analog Test (FSAT) programs as well as through the CSA. The
instruments and data collections were complementary. The TriDar
and GPR provided critical foundational data to the field operations
by collecting three-dimensional (3D) images of the surface and
subsurface at a designated area. From the fused TriDAR and GPR
data, ideal subsurface drilling and sampling locations in the area
designated ISRU-1 (Fig. 1) were selected. Subsurface samples were
obtained from these locations at ISRU-1 by using coring drills, auger
drills, and alcohol-cleaned handheld scoops and spatulas. The
augers drilled to depths of 4 m, while samples were collected at 1-m
intervals using the scoops and spatulas. These samples were then
distributed among the various science teams, who analyzed them
on their respective instruments. RESOLVE, a mobile instrument
comprised of a coring drill and a volatile analysis package, operated
as a stand-alone instrument at the ISRU-2 area (Fig. 1), where it
collected and analyzed samples in situ, to participate in soil analysis
for oxygen production. The MIMOS instruments participated in the
sample characterization for oxygen production as well. Although the
feedstock for the ISRU oxygen production plant was preselected
before the field tests, the RESOLVE operations simulated in situ
scientific exploration, characterization, and prospecting for feed-
stock for the ISRU oxygen production units. For example, geologic
materials with high total iron and ilmenite (FeTiO3) contents make
good feedstock for oxygen production by the hydrogen reduction
process (e.g., Allen et al. 1993,1994,1996).
Fig. 1. Geological map of the Island of Hawaii, or the Big Island (Trusdell et al. 2006, with permission from USGS): the circle marks the location of the
ILSO-ISRU field location; the inset shows a satellite image of the PISCES ILSO-ISRU field location called Pu’u Hiwahine; both sample sites used in this
campaign are marked on this picture; samples from ISRU-1 were collected using Honeybee Robotics deep drills and then investigated using the MMI,
Mössbauer, and VAPoR; and ISRU-2 was drilled and investigated using the RESOLVE instrument
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Site Selection
The ISRU-1 sampling site (Fig. 1) was selected and characterized
using a combination of TriDAR, global positioning system (GPS)
data, and GPR.
TriDAR
TriDAR (Neptec Design Group) is a combination imaging sensor
that exploits triangulation and LIDAR technologies to provide de-
tailed images and guidance information. During the ILSO-ISRU
campaign TriDAR was used to collect 3D surface data for a poten-
tial landing region as well as sampling regions for the various
scientific instruments. TriDAR is equipped with Neptec’s 3Di
software tool kit. This tool kit is based on the principle that 3D data
can be used in real-time applications over relatively modest band-
width data links, thus eliminating the collection of redundant data.
Ground Penetrating Radar
The GPR consisted of two multiagent teaming (MAT) mobility
platforms (Fig. 2) working together to efficiently and autonomously
conduct a subsurface survey of the landing pad area selected from the
surface data obtained by the TriDAR. The mobility platforms were
each equipped with a commercially available Noggin 1,000 GPR
and the NogginPlus data acquisition platform. The GPR survey data
were filtered using an application developed by the University of
Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies and subsequently trans-
ferred to a Xiphos Technologies’hybrid processing card. A remote
operator then evaluated the data using a set of geotechnical criteria
developed by NORCAT. The GPR data and vision system data are
fused using 3D visualization software (Voxler) to produce a 3D
surface and subsurface model. The drill sites were selected remotely
to evaluate the accuracy of the GPR data and provide ground truth for
the selected site.
Prior to scanning the area, spheres were placed within the Tri-
DAR’s expected field of view [Fig. 3(a)] and their GPS coordinates
were obtained. Using a method called GPS localization, the 3D scan
data captured by the TriDAR was then converted into a local ref-
erence frame using the GPS coordinates of the spheres. This 3D east-
north-up Cartesian coordinate system is independent of the position
of the TriDAR. In this system a series of lunar ISRU operations could
be conducted, including pad site selection, autonomous GPR sur-
veying of the site, and data fusion of the acquired surface and
subsurface data. The PadSiteSelect software application (Neptec)
combines this information into a graphical representation of a Tri-
DAR scan, based on which site was selected as suitable for veri-
fication by GPR. Height data in PadSiteSelect gave an indication of
the topography of the area, slope information was provided, and the
standard deviation indicated the roughness of the analyzed area. This
site-selection activity was meant to mirror a lunar ISRU mission
where robotic precursors are deployed and must survey the sur-
roundings to allow ground operators to select a suitable location to
begin construction of a landing site for future lunar modules. Data
collected by the TriDAR were downloaded and processed by a
remote operator at the CSA Exploration and Development Oper-
ations Centre, who then used the processed data in the selection of an
appropriate site for verification. The data obtained from the GPR
generated a subsurface map depicted in Fig. 3(b). This map was then
used to identify rocks and other obstacles that may have impeded
landing pad construction. Fusion of the surface data acquired by the
TriDAR data and the subsurface GPR data autonomously collected
by the MAT mobility platforms produced a 3D model of the
potential landing pad construction site. This resulting model is
shown in Figs. 3(c and d). Based on the map created by the GPR-
TriDAR data, several sample sites were selected. Here, the results
obtained from Drill Site 1, Hole 1, also known as ISRU-1 are
described. The location and altitude of ISRU-1 are given in Table 1
together with the drills used for sampling and their respective
sampling depths.
Field Characterization by the Scientific Instruments
Drilling
The surface at ISRU-1 was covered with a dry tephra layer (the
fragmented material produced by a volcanic eruption) and had little
or no cohesion. Two subsurface access instruments were used
to acquire the soil samples. These were (1) a NORCAT-provided
Dutch auger (see http://www.benmeadows.com/refinfo/techfacts/
augers_introduction_298.htm), also known as an Edelman auger, for
shallow samples; and (2) a custom screw auger for deep samples
(Fig. 4). The Dutch auger was a manually operated drill to collect
samples to a maximum length of 15 cm. The screw auger, built by
Honeybee Robotics, came in four, 1-m-long segments and was
manually driven by a 702-W Hilti TE 7A rotary-percussive, battery
powered drill. To penetrate deeper, the sections were screwed
together. The auger outside diameter (o.d.) was 2.5 cm, the root
diameter was 1.25 cm, and the flute depth (and, in turn, the
thickness of the soil layer between the auger flutes) was 0.6 cm.
Both drill types are normally used when sampling cohesive soils
(soils where particles stick to each other such as in wet soils, clay-
rich soils, etc.), and do not work well in dry, sandy, and cohesionless
soils. However, a few inches below the surface the tephra was moist,
and in turn cohesive, and thus relatively easy to sample with both
auger tools.
The Dutch auger was manually deployed to a depth of 90 cm in
15-cm increments [Fig. 5(a)]. Each 15-cm sample weighed .1kg
and was immediately bagged and sealed to avoid contamination
and loss of moisture. The subsamples for scientific analysis were
taken either just prior to or after the bagging process. The sampling
procedure for the screw auger included drilling to a 1-m depth,
pulling the auger out of the hole [Fig. 5(b)], taking the samples,
Fig. 2. MAT mobility platforms collecting GPR survey data in the
field: these data are fused with previously acquired TriDAR surface data
to produce a 3D surface and subsurface model
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cleaning off the remaining soil from the auger flutes [Fig. 5(c)],
attaching an additional 1-m segment, and drilling to a 2-m depth.
This procedure was repeated until 4-m depth was reached. The
samples were brushed and/or scraped into sampling bags using a
brush or a laboratory spatula directly from the lower part of the auger.
Sterile samples for VAPoR were taken first to avoid contamination
of the samples by plastic from the sampling bags, hands, or non-
sterile tools [Fig. 5(d)]. The soil sampled just above the bit was
marked as 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-m-depth samples, depending on the
drilling depth. The samples collected from ISRU-1 were then an-
alyzed by the MMI, the Mössbauer, and VAPoR.
Drilling to a depth of 4 m was a relatively easy task. In fact, the
flutes on the drill auger acted like a screw, and the auger was screwing
itself in very fast without the application of additional vertical force,
called weigh on bit. Most of the time, the drill was used in a pure rotary
mode (as opposed to a rotary-percussive mode). However, in a few
instances where drilling was getting tough (probably when a drill bit
encountered occasional rock) a percussive mode was engaged (the
drill was used as a rotary-percussive drill) and the penetration rate
increased again. With greater depth, it was found that the drilling
torque would increase—that is, the driller had to hold the drill more
firmly to prevent his hand from being twisted. At a certain depth, two
hands had to be used to prevent the drill from counterrotating.
However, the toughest problem was pulling the drill out of the
hole. It was observed that while the drill was screwing itself in very
fast, the auger flutes were getting packed up with cuttings. The end
result was that the auger became choked up and jammed in a hole
(i.e., more cuttings were being generated than what the auger could
convey to the surface). Reverse and forward rotations while pulling
on the drill were tried. This was the only effective method, although
it was very slow. It took two people working at their maximum
Fig. 3. Modeled TriDAR and GPR data: (a) site where the TriDAR and GPR data were recorded (the spheres are used for GPS localization; the box
represents the analyzed patch); (b) subsurface map of the area in the box generated using the GPR data; (c) top view of the 3D model produced from the
TriDAR data; (d) bottom view of combined GPR and TriDAR data
Table 1. ISRU-1 Sample Site
Site Location Altitude (m)
Sampling
depth for
Dutch auger
Sampling
depth for
screw auger
ISRU-1 N 1945039.400
W 15528007.000
2769.7 Surface to
90 cm
Discrete
samples at
1, 2, 3, and 4 m
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strength to pull the drill out of the hole in over 20 min. It was found
that the solution to auger choking was to limit the penetration rate by
pulling up on the drill, which was certainly counterintuitive. In
a conventional drilling process, a driller has to push on the drill and
not pull on it. Reducing the penetration rate allowed time for the
cuttings to freely move up the auger flutes. To prevent any future
auger jamming occurrences, every so often the auger performance
was monitored. This included pulling the drill up by an inch, while
continuing rotation, which was done to determine whether the drill
could in fact be still pulled out. If it was found that it became tough to
pull out the drill, the rotational speed was increased while keeping
the drill in place, allowing excess tephra to move up the flutes.
Multispectral Microscopic Imager
The MMI (shown in Fig. 6) employs multiwavelength light-emitting
diodes (LEDs), a substrate-removed indium-gallium-arsenide
(InGaAs) focal-plane array (FPA), and no moving parts, to provide
multispectral, microscale images in 21-wavelength bands extending
from visible wavelengths to 1.75 mm in the infrared (Nuñez et al. 2010).
The sensor for the MMI is a substrate-removed InGaAs FPA that is
sensitive over a spectral range of 0.47e1.75 mm. LED illumination
wavelengths are activated singly, in succession, as images are acquired
by the FPA, providing a data set comprised of 21 spatially coregistered
microimages. The MMI provides a spatial resolution (63 mm), field of
view of 40 332 mm, and depth of field (5 mm) comparable to that
provided by a geologist’s hand lens. Because the InGaAs FPA detector
technology does not require cooling, it extends the spectral range to 1.75
mm in the infrared with no increase in mass compared with the silicon
FPAsusedinthecurrentstate-of-the-art in situ microimagers.
The MMI characterized the microtexture and mineralogy of
materials present. To document the depth-related changes in the
microtexture and mineralogy, MMI data sets for each 1-m interval
were obtained, to a total depth of 4 m. Applying remote sensing
techniques developed for analysis of multispectral imagery, multi-
spectral images were processed and analyzed using the remote sens-
ing and image analysis software package ENVI (a commercial
software package sold by ITT Visual Information Solutions). Natural
and false color images were prepared while the spectral endmembers
(i.e., representing the purest spectra present in the spectral image data
set) were identified and used to producemaps showing the distribution
of spectral signatures in the sample. Reflectance spectra (reflectance
versus wavelength) were extracted for the spectral end members and
compared with the online USGS spectral library (Clark et al. 2007)to
identify the best-fit minerals for each spectral end member.The colors
of the pixels in the spectral end member maps indicate which spectral
end member is the closest match for each pixel. The results presented
here compare the surface tephra at ISRU-1 with a subsurface core
sample obtained from a depth of 2 m.
ISRU-1 Surface Tephra Sample
Figs. 7(a and b) show a natural color image and a spectral end
member map of the ISRU-1 surface materials obtained with the
MMI. At this site, the surface sediments consisted of poorly sorted
volcaniclastic sand. Most grains comprising the coarser size fraction
of the tephra (coarse sand to small pebbles) were subrounded and
exhibited light-toned to rust-colored (darker) alteration rinds [see
Fig. 7(a)]. These coatings had spectral features consistent with halide
salts, which appeared to have precipitated on the grain surfaces by
the evaporation of pore water within the upper capillary fringe zone
of the soil. In contrast, the fine sand fraction was a mixture of (1) dark
(unaltered), glassy basalt grains, (2) lighter-toned grains showing
rust-colored alteration coatings, or altered grain interiors, and (3)
a poorly characterized reddish matrix material of silt to clay-sized
particles. Darker grains were finely porphyritic and contained
microlites of light-toned plagioclase feldspars in a black aphanitic to
glassy matrix. The presence of magnetite and illmenite was also
indicated by the presence of magnetic grains, particularly in the
surface tephra where they appeared to have been concentrated by
wind erosion.
A spectral end member analysis of the surface tephra sample
suggested that the grain coatings were enriched in Fe-oxides and
possibly poorly ordered clays [see Fig. 7(c)]. The absorption features
at MMI Bands 1.22, 1.43, and 1.52 mm were overtones of the
structural OH vibration as well as combination tones of H2O
Fig. 4. Drills used in sampling: (a) the Dutch auger used to acquire
shallow (down to 91-cm) samples in 15-cm increments; (b) the screw
auger used to collect subsurface samples by assembling 1-m drill
segments to form a 4-m drill string
Fig. 5. Sampling: (a) sampling with the Dutch auger; (b) sampling
with the screw auger (tephra was captured within the auger flutes);
(c) subsample was brushed directly from the flutes closest to the drill bit
and into a sampling bag; (d) sterile samples were obtained first while
wearing gloves
Fig. 6. Field configuration of the MMI: the imager directly measures
the exposed rock surface using LEDs; the external light is blocked by the
cover to ensure optimal analysis conditions
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consistent with the presence of both structurally bound OH=H2O
(∼1.43 mm), such as in hydrated minerals like clays or Fe-
oxyhydroxides, and pore water (∼1.22 and 1.52 mm). The depth
of these absorptions increased with the core depth (compared with
the results for the 2-m core).
ISRU-1 Two-Meter Depth (22-m) Sample
In contrast to the surface sample, the MMI image of the 22-m core
sample revealed that the tephra at this depth consisted of fine-
grained, well-sorted, volcaniclastic sand [Figs. 8(a and b)]. The
low reflectance of the sample (as well as the high grain cohesion
coming out of the corer), suggests an elevated pore-water content
compared with the surface sample. The sample had a significant
amount of bound water as observed by the absorption feature at
1.43 mm throughout the entire image. The bound water was consistent
with the presence of abundant hydrated minerals, including iron
oxyhydroxides such as goethite and ferrihydrite, which was suggested
by the spectral absorptions of around 0.90 mm[Fig.8(c)]. This in-
terpretation was also consistent with the dark reddish brown phases
present in the fine-grained matrix component of the tephra. The fine
matrix of the 22-m core at this depth exhibited physical properties
(stickiness because of grain cohesion) consistent with the presence of
clays. However, the absence of clay diffraction features in the high-
resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the 22-m material in
the laboratory suggested that this fine component was likely domi-
nated by amorphous weathering products, such as ferrihydrite. Finally,
the case for abundant Fe-oxide weathering products in the tephra was
further strengthened by the presence of spectral absorptions around
0.90 mm, attributed to Fe31. The 1.05-mm absorption, interpreted to be
a result of reduced Fe21phases, is attributed to the presence of iron-
bearing silicates, pyroxene and olivine.
Volatile Analysis by Pyrolysis of Regolith
VAPoR is a pyrolysis mass spectrometer for evolved gas analysis
(EGA) based on the concept of the sample analysis at Mars (Mahaffy
2008) instrument on the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory mission.
VAPoR is designed to detect volatile species in the atmosphere
as well as gases evolved from volatile-bearing minerals including
water, noble gases, and hydrocarbons at high-priority targets of
astrobiological interest including the polar regions of the Moon and
Mars. The VAPoR flight instrument will consist of a miniature time-
of-flight mass spectrometer (Getty et al. 2010) and a sample ma-
nipulation system containing six individual ovens that can be heated
to at least 1,200C(ten Kate et al. 2010). The VAPoR field unit used
in this study (Fig. 9) consists of a commercial quadrupole mass
spectrometer (Stanford Research Systems RGA300), one pyrolysis
oven that heats samples to a maximum of 1,000C, and a turbopump
(Pfeiffer Vacuum TSU071E, TC600) to keep the internal pressure
within the operational range of the mass spectrometer (below
53104mbar). Pressures above 10
23
mbar will damage the mass
spectrometer by burning out the ion-generating filament. For
the field tests, samples were heated in the oven from ambient
Fig. 7. MMI analysis of the ISRU-1 surface sample: (a) natural color image and (b) spectral end member map (B) obtained with the MMI; (c) plot of
reflectance versus wavelength for the spectral end members of the surface sample
Fig. 8. MMI analysis of the ISRU-1 (2-m depth) sample: (a) natural color image and (b) spectral end member map obtained with the MMI; (c) plot of
reflectance versus wavelength for the spectral end members of the 22-m sample
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temperature to 800C at a rate of 20C/min using a high-voltage
power supply (Kikusui PAN70-5A). Gases released from powdered
samples (up to 10 mg) were then monitored by the RGA300 mass
spectrometer by scanning from 2 to 150Din unit mass (1D) steps.
Because the system is actively pumped during sample heating, the
evolved gas traces show bumps and peaks in the temperature range in
which a certain compound is volatile. Using these profiles, not only
can the evolved compounds be measured but also an indication of its
source can be given. For example, each hydrated clay mineral
releases its water at a different temperature. The evolved gas data
obtained by VAPoR were used to determine the bulk chemistry of
the soil, estimate water abundances, determine the presence and
abundance of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, and in some
cases, make mineral identifications.
The VAPoR field experiments were conducted as follows:
a 10-mg soil or powdered rock sample was inserted into a quartz
sample tube holder, which was closed off on both ends with
quartz glass wool to prevent the sample from falling out. Both the
quartz wool and the quartz tubes were heated at 500C for 3 h in air to
remove any organic residue. The quartz tube was then inserted into
the sample oven and the field unit was evacuated to pressures on the
order of 10
27
mbar. Because the mass spectrometer only operates at
pressures below 10
24
mbar, the samples were often heated to 50C
to minimize the internal pressure buildup of the instrument as a result
of adsorbed water in the sample. When the desired operational
pressure was reached, the oven ramp (rate of 20C/min to 800C)
was initiated and the mass spectrometer was powered on to begin
recording mass spectra as a function of oven temperature.
VAPoR analyzed samples were collected from the surface, 2-m
depth (22 m), and 4-m depth (24 m) at ISRU-1. For this study, the
focus was on the following organic and inorganic species, as listed in
Table 2.Fig. 10 shows the evolved gas profiles for the inorganic
compounds (top three panes) and organic compounds (bottom three
panes) in the samples collected at various depths. The VAPoR
results, like the MMI results, clearly showed increasing water
abundances with depth. The 24-m sample contained so much water
that the temperature ramp had to be stopped and held at 220C for
30 min to lower the internal pressure of the instrument by pumping
out the excess water. The double peak in the 24-m depth plots is
a result of keeping the temperature at a constant value of 220C,
while the chamber was actively pumped. By keeping the temperature
constant every compound that was volatile at that temperature would
be released until the point where there were no volatiles left. At that
point, the internal pressure in the system would drop again to op-
erational pressures, which also caused all the volatiles to be pumped
away. As soon as the sample was heated further, more volatiles were
released causing the pressure to go back up and creating the second
rise in the evolved gas traces. Without this overpressure, the traces
would have looked more similar to those of the 0- and 22-m
samples. The 24-m samples were visually very wet and nearly
muddy upon collection; therefore, the results from the EGA of this
sample were not surprising. The surface had a much lower abun-
dance of water and some organic fragments, which could be a result
of the harsher surface conditions, such as wind and surface erosion.
The abundance of organics increased substantially with depth,
suggesting that organics had leached downward with the water.
For the field tests, a new high-temperature alumina-coated
tungsten wire crucible (RD Mathis) was used in the VAPoR field
tests. Prior to deployment, this oven was baked out in the laboratory
to 1,000C to reduce outgassing from the alumina crucible. Empty
ovens were analyzed as blanks between soil samples for back-
ground volatile corrections; however, even after 12 heating cycles up
to 800C outgassing products (e.g., water, alkane fragments) from
the oven itself were still observed. Therefore, part of the organic
signal detected by VAPoR contributed to this contamination. Al-
though it is difficult to draw any final conclusions on the organic
content of the analyzed samples, the contamination signal was so
low that the amount of organics present in the soil overwhelmed the
contamination signal. Therefore, the greater water and organic
content at lower depths was not considered to be an artifact of the
instrument but rather a valid observation.
Analytical Support for Oxygen Production
Oxygen was produced by a carbothermal processor (ORBITEC).
This processor generates oxygen through carbothermal reduction of
tephra (Gustafson et al. 2011) and leaves molten tephra as the
leftover product. Two instruments participated in sample selection
and analysis to support oxygen production, the MIMOS II and
MIMOS IIA instruments and RESOLVE.
Mo
¨ssbauer Spectrometers MIMOS II and MIMOS IIA
MIMOS II [Figs. 11(aec)] is a contact instrument for placement on
rock or soil samples, which does not require any sample preparation.
MIMOS II instruments have been onboard the two NASA Mars
exploration rovers on the surface of Mars since January 2004 and
are still functional after more than 8 years (Klingelhöfer 1999;
Fig. 9. VAPoR field unit with the mass spectrometer, atmospheric
inlet, and oven marked
Table 2. VAPoR Species of Interest
Species Name Formula Plotted mass
Organic Methane CH413
Benzene C6H678
Toluene C7H892
Characteristic alkane
fragments
39, 43, 57
Inorganic Water H2O19ðH17
2OÞ
Carbon dioxide CO244 ð30. 1Þ
Nitrogen/carbon monoxide N2=CO 28 ð30. 1Þ
Sulfur dioxide SO264
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Klingelhöfer et al. 2003,2004;Morris et al. 2004,2006,2008).
These instruments were also included on the ill-fated Russian
Phobos-Grunt mission (Rodionov et al. 2010). An advanced
MIMOS IIA is under development for the European Space Agency
and NASA rover missions to be launched in 2018. Major im-
provements are the simultaneous acquisition of Mössbauer and
XRF spectra, with the highest energy resolution in the XRF mode
allowing for very precise determination of elemental composition
(Lechner et al. 1996;Alberti et al. 2006).
Mössbauer spectra provide information on the Fe oxidation
state (e.g., Fe0,Fe
21, and Fe31), the Fe coordination state (e.g.,
tetrahedral and octahedral coordination), and the relative abundance
of Fe among oxidation states, coordination states, and Fe-bearing
phases. The element Fe, which is multivalent and abundant, provides
essential geochemical and mineralogical information. Ferrous iron
(Fe21) is common in many rock-forming minerals [e.g., olivine,
pyroxene, ilmenite, (titano)magnetite, and chromite] and secondary
minerals (e.g., serpentine and sulfates).
MIMOS instruments operate in backscattering geometry and
consume ∼2 W of power. A
57
Co source irradiates a sample area
about 15 mm in diameter. MIMOS II uses four square-shaped PIN
diodes with a sensitive area of 1 cm
2
each. The advanced version
MIMOS IIA, which is still under development, is equipped with
a ring of silicon drift detectors (SDDs) developed by PNSensor
GmbH and produced at the Max Planck Institute Semiconductor
Laboratory. The energy resolution of the SDD is particularly
temperature dependent and improves with decreasing temperatures.
Therefore, measurements were sometimes performed during night-
time and early morning to maximize energy resolution, especially for
the X-ray mode of MIMOS IIA. The main goal of the new detector
system design is to combine high-energy resolution at high counting
rates and a large detector area while making maximum use of the
area close to the collimator of the
57
Co Mössbauer source. Möss-
bauer operations during the ISRU field test occurred both in the
Mössbauer field laboratory and, for in situ measurements, on the
robotic arm of the NORCAT rover [Fig. 11(c)]. For all measure-
ments, communication with the instruments was wireless.
Representative Mössbauer spectra are shown in Fig. 12. The
top three spectra show spectra for three rocks. The first spectrum,
which is dominated by Fe21in the mineral olivine [ðMg,FeÞSiO4], is
from an olivine zenolith. The second sample is a massive (dense)
basaltic rock that is uncommon in the immediate vicinity of the ISRU
base. Its Fe-bearing phases are dominated by Fe21in pyroxene
ðMg,Fe,CaÞSiO3, ilmenite (FeTiO3), and olivine. The third sample
Fig. 10. VAPoR EGA results: (top three panes) inorganic volatile content of the surface 2- and 24-m samples from the ISRU-1 sampling site (the
peak at mass 19 corresponds to water saturating the RGA detector at 4-m depth); (bottom three panes) volatile organic content of the surface and 22-
and 24-m samples from the ISRU-1 sampling site (the signal at mass 39 and mass 43 correspond to alkanes saturated at 4-m depth
Fig. 11. Mössbauer Spectrometer MIMOS II setup: (a) MIMOS setup in the experiment box, where it had to reside for radiation safety; (b) MIMOS II
and MIMOS IIA sensor heads in the experiment box; (c) MIMOS IIA mounted on the NorCAT rover performing in situ measurements
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is a vesicular basaltic rock whose dominant Fe-bearing phases are
Fe21in olivine and Fe31in nanophase ferric oxide (npOx). The
Mössbauer spectrum for this rock closely resembles the tephra used
as the feedstock for the ISRU oxygen production plant, the fourth
spectrum, as can be seen by comparing the two spectra in Fig. 12.
The feedstock tephra is directly comparable to the tephra at ISRU-1.
The bottom two spectra in Fig. 12 are the spectrum for the solid
end product of the ORBITEC carbothermal reduction process
and the spectrum for metallic Fe. The Fe-bearing phases in the
ORBITEC product are Fe21in glass and metallic Fe. The presence of
metallic Fe and the absence of Fe31in the ORBITEC product
compared with the feedstock is clear evidence for reduction of the
feedstock and concomitant loss of oxygen from the tephra. The
absence of Fe21from Fe-bearing minerals in the ORBITEC solid
shows none have crystallized during cooling of the silicate melt to
a glass at termination of heating by the solar concentrator.
Additionally, XRF spectra of the olivine xenolith, the massive
basalt, and the ISRU-1 surface sample were obtained with the
MIMOS IIA instrument (Fig. 13). Peaks for Ca and Ti are absent in
the olivine xenolith, as expected for the mineral. The presence of Ti
for the massive basalt is consistent with the presence of ilmenite in its
Mössbauer spectrum (Fig. 12). Calculation of absolute elemental
concentrations from MIMOS IIA XRF spectra is under develop-
ment. On the basis of the change in the oxidation state of Fe between
the ISRU-1 tephra and the ORBITEC product and a total FeO1
Fe2O3concentration of ∼10 % by weight for the tephra, the oxygen
yield is estimated to be ∼1-g O/(100-g sample). If other metal
oxides are also being reduced, the yield will be higher.
Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen
and Lunar Volatile Extraction
RESOLVE is a drilling and miniature chemistry plant packaged onto
a medium-sized rover that analyzes collected soil for volatile
components by heating the soil and reducing it at high temperatures
in the presence of hydrogen to produce water (Fig. 14). The RE-
SOLVE prototype consists of a 1-m core drill and crusher known as
the excavation and bulk regolith characterization, regolith volatile
characterization (RVC) subsystem, lunar water resource demon-
stration (LWRD) subsystem, regolith oxygen extraction (ROE)
subsystem, and ground support equipment (GSE). The RESOLVE
prototype processing module can be mounted onto any mobility
platform that would accept its current mass and volume configu-
ration. RESOLVE’s capabilities include drilling 1 m into soil, taking
core samples, crushing them into 1-mm particles, delivering them to
a reusable reactor, heating 25-cm core sample at a time and driving
off volatiles, analyzing the volatiles using a gas chromatographic
column capturing the water and hydrogen evolved, and extracting
oxygen by hydrogen reduction. The operation of the gas chro-
matograph (GC) was optimized for H2, He, and water detection.
Other compounds that could be quantified were N2,O
2or Ar, CO2,
CO, CH4, and H2S. The sample in the field introduced to the GC was
controlled because of the specific scientific demonstration goals of
this field test (described subsequently). The detection of the volatiles
utilized a modified Siemens GC. The dual column GC was modified
to a dual oven design and optimized to separate water from inert
components on a Porabond-Q column followed by a heart cut that
was used to separate the inert components (such as hydrogen, he-
lium, and nitrogen) on a mol-sieve column. Neon was used as the
carrier gas to allow for the detection of hydrogen and helium. The
instrument included eight thermal conductivity detectors that were
used to quantify the volatiles based on their unique retention times.
During the ILSO-ISRU campaign RESOLVE collected its own
sample cores. The requirements of this instrument package included
the ability to clearly distinguish between hydrogen and water as well
as to quantify low levels of those species and other potential lunar
polar volatiles such as carbon monoxide, ammonia, methane, and
hydrogen cyanide. RESOLVE collected its own samples at both
Fig. 12. Representative MIMOS II Mössbauer spectra from the ISRU
field test (all spectra are relative to the midpoint of the metallic-Fe
spectrum)
Fig. 13. XRF spectra from the MIMOS IIA instrument for three ISRU
samples: measurements were done in situ using the robotic arm of the
NorCAT rover for deployment; the olivine xenolith is identified by low
Ca and Ti concentrations relative to basaltic rock and soil
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Sites ISRU-1 and ISRU-2 (see Fig. 1); however, only the samples
from ISRU-2 were analyzed. Similarly to ISRU-1, the surface at
ISRU-2 was covered with a layer of dry tephra.
One of the goals of this field test was to demonstrate the detection
of low levels of hydrogen and water evolved during heating of
a tephra sample. For successful testing of the RESOLVE instrument
in this field test, the water and hydrogen content of the sample had to
be known before measurement. Because none of the other scientific
instruments could do this to an accurate level in this field test, the
RESOLVE samples were dried and then doped with water and
metal hydride before analysis. This was done to obtain low levels of
a known amount of hydrogen and water in the collected sample. Water
doping of the soil was performed by two methods. The first method
was to simply expose the dried and sieved tephra sample to atmo-
spheric conditions. The tephra absorbs a small amount of water from
the moisture in the atmosphere, typically coming to a water content of
about 1% by weight. Higher concentrations of water were achieved by
doping a small amount of tephra with liquid water and adding the
doped sample to the reactor. In this manner up to an additional 0.5 g of
water was added to the reactor. Both doping methods were used in the
field in an effort to illustrate the detection ranges of the GC. Hydrogen
doping was performed by manually adding metal hydride (Hy-stor
207, lanthanum nickel aluminum metal hydride) to the tephra sam-
ple. This metal hydride had the desirable range of vapor pressure (0.43
bar at 25C to 42.6 bar at 175C) and was passivated to ensure safe
operations in air. To prevent a flammable mixture of gas in the reactor
during heating, the reactor was purged with argon prior to heating. The
instrument was calibrated with known amounts of water and hydrogen
prior to the field test.
The 82.3-g sample core described in this paper was collected
by RESOLVE at Site ISRU-2, on top of the ridge (see Fig. 1)and
prepared in the field by sieving and drying. The sample was then
transferred to the reactor and doped with water-bearing tephra and metal
hydride. Subsequently, the sample was heated to 150C over ap-
proximately 1 h. Evolved gases were fed into the GC, which was
optimized for H2, He, and water detection. The separation of water,
CO2, and inert species was performed on a Porabond-Q column, with
a heart cut to separate the inert species on a mol-sieve column using
a Deans switch. As the sample was heated, both hydrogen and water
evolved with increasing temperature as shown in Fig. 15.
Fig. 14. (a) RESOLVE rover and instrument package; (b) RESOLVE schematic showing the RVC, LWRD, ROE, and GSE subsystems: for volatile
analysis, the sample is crushed and transferred to the reactor, heated to evolve volatiles, and the gas is transferred to the GC for analysis (RVC
subsystem); the gas is then transferred to the LWRD subsystem where the water and hydrogen are captured (oxygen production takes place within the
ROE subsystem)
Fig. 15. Gas evolution in the RESOLVE reactor: hydrogen, water, and
carbon dioxide are measured as target gases; argon gas is used to purge
the reactor before heating and does not evolve from the sample at these
temperatures
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Prior to the transfer of the sample from the reactor to the surge tank,
the gas composition in the reactor was 39.4% hydrogen, 6.9% argon,
9.5% carbon dioxide, and 44% water. These values were converted to
masses assuming the ideal gas law using the pressure, volume, and
temperature of the reactor. The results are shown in Table 3. These results
show that the RESOLVE gas analysis system is able to analyze very low
weight percentages of volatiles in tephra, well below 0.1% by weight.
Discussion
The 2010 ILSO-ISRU campaign was the first campaign with
a dedicated science team and not all instruments had previously been
thoroughly field tested. Therefore, the main focus of the campaign
was on the integration and operation of the various scientific
instruments. However, besides these operational tasks great effort
was taken to analyze a few samples with all instruments to obtain
a complete data set, which would allow a broad analysis of the site as
well as the compatibility of the instrument set. The aim of the sci-
entific operations of the ILSO-ISRU campaign was to collect and
compare data from at least both ISRU-1 and ISRU-2. However,
because of startup problems with the incorporation of the scientific
instruments on a technology-focused campaign, as well as startup
problems with several instruments, the data set presented here is the
most complete set of the campaign.
From the operational instrument perspective the ILSO-IRSU
campaign proved to be a successful campaign. In previous drilling
work in lunar soil simulants, it was found that the drilling power
required to move cuttings up the flutes is much greater than the
drilling power required to break up the formation. This was true not
only for compacted lunar soil simulant but also for ice-saturated and
frozen lunar soil simulant, having strength in excess 40 MPa, which
is the strength of sandstone and limestone (Zacny et al. 2007;Zacny
and Cooper 2007). The drilling rates and problems encountered
during drilling in Mauna Kea tephra were similar to the drilling rates
and the problems encountered in these previous studies as well as on
the Moon (Apollo 15 Mission Report 1973;Apollo 17 Mission
Report 1973), thus demonstrating that this particular site is an ex-
cellent lunar analog for drilling.
The MMI successfully imaged a variety of rock and soil materials
under daytime illumination conditions, providing microtextural and
compositional information in support of the ISRU activities. The
spectral analysis of the MMI data identified major Fe-bearing sili-
cates and oxides, as well as the presence of hydrated minerals in-
cluding weathering products such as Fe oxyhydroxides, placing
minerals within a microtextural context to guide subsampling of
geologic materials for further analysis onboard a rover with other
instruments, or in selecting samples for potential return to Earth.
The field test showed that Mössbauer is an effective tool for both
scientific and feedstock exploration and process monitoring (cal-
culation of oxygen yield based on Fe reduction). The 2010 ILSO-
ISRU field test represented the first analysis of geologic materials by
the current generation of the MIMOS IIA instrument. Future ISRU
field tests will focus more heavily on the MIMOS IIA instrument.
The RESOLVE prototype has shown end-to-end operation of
volatiles, showing advancements toward flight operation. The
current system highlights a reuseable reactor that facilitates volatile
identification and quantification. Successful low-level detection of
water and hydrogen during an analog mission highlight the ability of
this system to detect and quantify lunar volatiles.
The VAPoR instrument characterized several organic com-
pounds as well as inorganics such as water. The very high water
content, especially of the subsurface samples, inhibited in-depth
analysis of the data. This could have been prevented by analyzing
a smaller sample (on the order of 1e2 mg instead of 10 mg) or by
drying the sample before analysis, as with RESOLVE; however,
given the tight schedule in the field, it was decided to run samples
collected from other drill sites. As described by ten Kate et al. (2008),
contamination is an important issue in missions looking for organics,
and volatile outgassing from high-temperature oven materials as
described in the VAPoR data section should therefore be minimized.
Based on the MIMOS II and MIMOS IIA data, the site is very well
suited to test oxygen extraction instrumentation.
Conclusions
In this paper, a description and regional geological setting for a new
field analog test site for lunar resource exploration, and a discussion
of the results obtained from the 2010 ILSO-ISRU field campaign
as a reference for future field testing at this site have been provided.
The following instruments were tested: a MMI, a Mössbauer spec-
trometer, an evolved gas analyzer, VAPoR, and an oxygen and
volatile extractor called RESOLVE. Preliminary results show that the
sedimentschange from dry, organic-poor,poorly sorted volcaniclastic
sand on the surface, containing basalt, iron oxides, and clays, to more
water- and organic-rich, fine-grained, well-sorted volcaniclastic
sand, primarily consisting of iron oxides and depleted of basalt and
clays. Furthermore, drilling experiments showed a very close cor-
relation between drilling on the Moon and drilling at the test site.
From the results it is difficult to paint a full-scale picture of the
test site. One lesson to be implemented in future field testing cam-
paigns is that more focused and structured scientific input is needed
to collect sufficient data to generate a stronger scientific publication.
This can be achieved by following a more missionlike protocol.
However, in general it can be concluded that the ILSO-ISRU test
site was a good location for testing strategies for in situ resource
exploration at the lunar surface. For drilling purposes the Mauna Kea
tephra proved to be ideal testing material. The MMI and MIMOS II
instruments provided important data on the water and oxygen con-
tent of the tephra that can be used for ISRU purposes. Partly because
of the high water content of the tephra the VAPoR analyses were
more focused on organics. RESOLVE operated as a standalone
package and proved it can detect low levels of compounds important
for ISRU. However, because of the high (ground) water content of
the tephra it is difficult to use this site for testing of instruments that
are focused on detection of trace amounts of water. RESOLVE
worked its way around it by drying and spiking the samples; VAPoR
will adopt a drying protocol in future tests as well. As a large-scale
test site for testing and integrating a wide range of instruments, this
site is very suitable.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank and acknowledge the CSA and
NASA for funding the analog field test infrastructure and campaign,
NORCAT for providing the analog field test site infrastructure, and
the PISCES for obtaining access to the analog field test site and pro-
viding logistics and assistance for field test operations. The authors
would also like to thank the NASA ROSES FSAT, Astrobiology
Table 3. Mass and Weight Percent of Hydrogen, Water, and Carbon
Dioxide Evolved from the Sample Collected at ISRU-2
Amount Hydrogen Water Carbon dioxide
Mass (g) 0.0037 0.0371 0.0196
Weight % 0.0045 0.0451 0.0238
194 / JOURNAL OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING ©ASCE / JANUARY 2013
J. Aerosp. Eng. 2013.26:183-196.
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Science and Technology Instrument Development (ASTID), and
MMAMA programs for instrument funding and field science sup-
port. G.K., B.B., and M.B. acknowledge the support by the DLR
under Contract No. 50QX0802.
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