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X ray probe, scanning electron microscopy and spectral reflectance analysis of lunar environment effects on Apollo 12 returned Surveyor 3 materials surface cratering
Laboratory experiments show that albedoes as low as those on the moon can be produced by vacuum vitrification and associated chemical fractionation of ordinary terrestrial basaltic material. Vitrification is established as an unequivocal process that can account for the low albedo and apparent local darkening with age of the lunar surface. The spectral reflectance curves of glass powders are significantly different than those of the parent rock mineralogy; thus, the presence of ubiquitous glass in lunar surface material complicates compositional determinations by interpretation of spectral reflectance curves. Vitrification of rocks on the moon may highly modify the chemical composition of the resulting glass; thus, glass fragments found in lunar fines cannot be assumed to represent bulk parent rock material. Progressive impact vitrification of lunar surface material throughout the moon's history may have led to a fine-grain, opaque, refractory-rich material we call 'ultimate glass.' This unidentified and, at this point, hypothetical component may exist in dark regolith material; if found, it may be a useful indicator of regolith maturity.
An approach toward low-pass, high-pass and band-pass filtering is presented. Convolution coefficients possessing the filtering speed associated with a moving smoothing average without suffering a loss of resolution are discussed. Resolution was retained because the coefficients represented the equivalance of applying high order two-dimensional regression calculations to an image without considering the time-consuming summations associated with the usual normal equations. The smoothing (low-pass) and roughing (high-pass) aspects of the filters are a result of being derived from regression theory. The coefficients are universal integer valves completely described by filter size and surface order, and possess a number of symmetry properties. Double convolution lead to a single set of coefficients with an expanded mask which can yield band-pass filtering and the surface normal. For low order surfaces (0,1), the two-dimensional convolute integers were equivalent to a moving smoothing average.
A technique has been developed which uses spectral transmittance of samples exposed to thruster efflux to determine and characterize the effect of the efflux on spacecraft surfaces and optical devices. An investigation of facility backsputter revealed that efflux samples must be protected (e.g., by small shield boxes) from materials from tank walls and targets. The composition of the sputter efflux deposited on the samples was mostly molybdenum with trace amounts of tantalum, iron and/or mercury. The efflux from a 5-cm diameter thruster was deposited on samples located in the plane of the accelerator grid; the 8-cm diameter thruster efflux results showed that the location of ion beam sputtering and efflux deposition equilibrium occurred at 57 deg with respect to the thruster axis; and the 30-cm diameter thruster had an ion beam erosion-efflux deposition equilibrium at 45 deg.
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The stereometric camera was designed for close-range techniques in biostereometrics. The camera focusing distance of 360 mm to infinity covers a broad field of close-range photogrammetry. The design provides for a separate unit for the lens system and interchangeable backs on the camera for the use of single frame film exposure, roll-type film cassettes, or glass plates. The system incorporates the use of a surface contrast optical projector.
Reflectance spectroscopy and multispectral mapping are the techniques likely to be most useful for determining asteroid surfaces. Several other techniques should be considered for providing complementary information.
The infrared spectra of analogs of lunar soils were investigated to further the development of methodology for interpretation of remotely measured infrared spectra of the lunar surface. The optical constants of dunite, bytownite, augite, ilmenite, and a mare glass analog were obtained. The infrared emittance spectra of powdered minerals were measured and compared with spectra calculated by the reflectance theory using a catalog of optical constants. The results indicate that the predictions of the theory closely simulate the experimental measurements if the optical constants are properly derived.
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Polarimetric, photometric, and reflective spectroscopic properties of asteroid 4 Vesta are simulated in the laboratory by a preparation of eucrite Bereba consisting of a broad mixture of particle sizes (mainly greater than 50-micron) mixed and partially coated with particles of size 10 microns and less. Coarse grains are necessary for producing the same albedo and a very fine dust coating is necessary for producing the same polarization inversion angle as observed for Vesta. There are less small grains and fine dust in this sample than in lunar soils. Photometrically, if coating a sphere, this sample shows a constant brightness on the sunward half of the observed hemisphere, the brightness being given on the other half by the Minnaert reciprocity principle. With such a photometric behavior, the global geometric albedo and the sub-earth point geometric albedo differ by no more than 5%. The microscopic phase coefficient is 0.021 magnitude per degree for the sample; the larger value, 0.025, observed telescopically for Vesta, indicates that large-scale roughness is present on this asteroid.
Significant effects of the environment on payload bay materials observed on all flights are discussed. The STS 5 experiment is described. Increased outgassing rates resulting in possible localized effects on experiments, changes in optical control surfaces, and photoemission from reaction products are considered.
Continuing plans for a large deployable reflector (LDR), conceived as a 10- to 30-m-diameter clear-aperture telescope, operating at wavelengths from 1000 microns to a diffraction-limited 30 microns, and to be placed in orbit for a life of 10 years by the Space Shuttle, are discussed. The primary reflector will be composed of a number of closely packed hexagonal segments of glass or lightweight composite material and attached to a truss integrating structure through position actuators providing three degrees of freedom for each segment. Technical aspects of optical design, surface measurement systems, deployment, and detectors are discussed, as are practical and fiscal limitations.
Ultraviolet and X-ray surveys of the W Ursae Majoris type stars are reviewed. These systems exhibit extended coronas and transition regions that are confined close to the optically determined surfaces. Correlations of X-ray activity with period or rotational velocity indicate a turn-over or saturation of emission at the short periods or high velocities found in the W UMa-type systems. For a number of systems, ultraviolet emission appears to be anti-correlated with the strength of X-ray emission. These observations are discussed in terms of solar structures, activity, and evolution.
Optical keyboard surfaces used in typewriters, computer terminals, and telephone inexpensively fabricated using stack of printed-circuit cards set in laminate. Internal laminations carry all illuminating and sensing light conductors to keys.
When a PTFE sheet was rubbed unidirectionally over a smooth surface of stainless steel an essentially monomolecular transfer film was formed. By ellipsometric and emission infrared spectroscopic techniques it was shown that the film was 10 to 15 A thick and birefringent. From the intensity differences of infrared bands obtained with a polarizer passing radiation polarized in mutually perpendicular planes, it was possible to deduce transfer film orientation with the direction of rubbing. After standing in air for several weeks the transfer films apparently increased in thickness by as much as threefold. At the same time both the index of refraction and the absorption index decreased. Examination of the surfaces by optical and electron microscopies showed that the films had become porous and flaky. These observations were consistent with previous tribological measurements. The coefficients of friction decreased with the formation of the transfer film but increased again as the film developed breaks. The applicability of the ellipsometric and polarized infrared emission techniques to the identification of monomolecular tribological transfer films of polymers such as PTFE has been demonstrated.
When a PTFE sheet was rubbed unidirectionally over a smooth surface of stainless steel an essentially monomolecular transfer film was formed. by ellipsometric and emission infrared spectroscopic techniques it was shown that the film was 10 to 15 A thick and birefringent. From the intensity differences of infrared bands obtained with a polarizer passing radiation polarized in mutually perpendicular planes, it was possible to deduce transfer film orientation with the direction of rubbing. After standing in air for several weeks the transfer films apparently increased in thickness by as much as threefold. At the same time both the index of refraction and the absorption index decreased. Examination of the surfaces by optical and electron microscopies showed that the films had become porous and flaky. These observations were consistent with previous tribological measurements. The coefficients of friction decreased with the formation of the transfer film but increased again as the film developed breaks. The applicability of the ellipsometric and polarized infrared emission techniques to the identification of monomolecular tribological transfer films of polymers such as PTFE has been demonstrated.
The development of thermal control surfaces, which maintain stable solar absorptivity and infrared emissivity over long periods, is challenging due to severe conditions in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Some candidate coatings are second-surface silver-coated Teflon; second-surface, silvered optical solar reflectors made of glass or quartz; and anodized aluminum. Sulfuric acid anodized and oxalic acid anodized aluminum was evaluated under simulated LEO conditions. Oxalic acid anodizing shows promise of greater stability in LEO over long missions, such as the 30 years planned for the Space Station. However, sulfuric acid anodizing shows lower solar absorptivity.
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