LIRIS – DEMONSTRATING HOW SMALL SATELLITES CAN REVOLUTIONISE LUNAR SCIENCE DATA SETS

Lunar InfraRed Imaging System (LIRIS) is a mission concept which was recently selected for evaluation for the ESA Open Space Innovation Platform call for ‘Small Missions for Exploration – Destination the Moon’. Advancements in technology, improved lunar infrastructure and increased accessibility enabled by lower cost rideshares direct to lunar orbit, open the field for small satellite missions which can transform the lunar mission landscape, enabling valuable science at lower cost and risk. Using proven infrared imaging techniques in low lunar orbit, LIRIS will host a short/mid wave infrared multispectral imager based on the DarkCarb imager flown in 2023, capable of providing sub-meter resolution images of the lunar surface in the region of the OH/H2O spectral band (around 3 µm), improving on spatial resolution of existing data sets by more than an order of magnitude. In addition, the spacecraft will host a thermal infrared imager (6-25 µm), an evolution of the University of Oxford’s Lunar Thermal Mapper (set to fly on NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer later this year) to provide complimentary thermal context, enabling the production of actionable science data for lunar volatile mapping, human activity monitoring and to support upcoming In Situ Resource Utilisation missions.