abstract: Future robotic and human missions to the Moon and Mars will need in situ capabilities to characterize the mineralogy of rocks and soils within a microtextural context. Such spatially-correlated information is considered crucial for correct petrogenetic interpretations and will be key observations for assessing the potential for past habitability on Mars. These data will also enable the selection of the highest value samples for further analysis and potential caching for return to Earth. The Multispectral Microscopic Imager (MMI), similar to a geologist's hand lens, advances the capabilities of current microimagers by providing multispectral, microscale reflectance images of geological samples, where each image pixel is comprised of a 21-band spectrum ranging from 463 to 1735 nm. To better understand the capabilities of the MMI in future surface missions to the Moon and Mars, geological samples comprising a range of Mars-relevant analog environments as well as 18 lunar rocks and four soils, from the Apollo collection were analyzed with the MMI. Results indicate that the MMI images resolve the fine-scale microtextural features of samples, and provide important information to help constrain mineral composition. Spectral end-member mapping revealed the distribution of Fe-bearing minerals (silicates and oxides), along with the presence of hydrated minerals. In the case of the lunar samples, the MMI observations also revealed the presence of opaques, glasses, and in some cases, the effects of space weathering in samples. MMI-based petrogenetic interpretations compare favorably with laboratory observations (including VNIR spectroscopy, XRD, and thin section petrography) and previously published analyses in the literature (for the lunar samples). The MMI was also deployed as part of the 2010 ILSO-ISRU field test on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Hawaii and inside the GeoLab as part of the 2011 Desert RATS field test at the Black Point Lava Flow in northern Arizona to better assess the performance of the MMI under realistic field conditions (including daylight illumination) and mission constraints to support human exploration. The MMI successfully imaged rocks and soils in outcrops and samples under field conditions and mission operation scenarios, revealing the value of the MMI to support future rover and astronaut exploration of planetary surfaces. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Geological Sciences 2012

In the future, international Lunar missions will include both surface and lava tunnel EVA explorations, together with the collection of soil composition and ground data. Some issues with the realization of these activities are the communication constraints between the astronauts and the ground base on the Moon’s surface (especially in the first phases of Lunar exploration, when the satellite communication network will be under-supplied), and the limited area that a classical ground analyzing scientific instrument can cover. A solution to those issues has already been explored by previous interns at Spaceship EAC, resulting in a set of hardware prototypes communicating via LoRa protocol in an Internet of Things network configuration. The main idea behind these devices is to act both as signal transmitters and receivers, bridging the astronaut’s EVA suit to the ground base, and as a broad sensor network, capable of collecting a large amount of ground data from a vast area (crucial, for example, because of the proven heterogeneity of lunar soil chemical composition between different zones).This thesis explores the feasibility of miniaturizing these prototypes and creating a new set of smaller units with enhanced functionalities and performance. The designed device is called CRUMB (Compact Radio Unit for Moon data Broadcasting), and each unit is capable of communicating to other CRUMBs via LoRa frequencies (868 MHz – standard for European applications) while answering to an IoT mesh protocol. Via an accelerometer sensor, the CRUMB units are also able to send gravimetry data to the rest of the mesh, and to send an emergency communication whenever a moonquake is detected. Moreover, CRUMB’s volume is 92% smaller than its predecessor’s, and it nominally operates with a low power consumption (less than 1 W). / I framtiden kommer internationella månuppdrag att omfatta EVA-utforskning av både ytan och lavatunnlar, tillsammans med insamling av jordsammansättning och markdata. Några problem med att genomföra dessa aktiviteter är kommunikationsbegränsningarna mellan astronauterna och markbasen på månens yta (särskilt under de första faserna av månutforskningen, när satellitkommunikationsnätverket kommer att vara underförsörjt) och det begränsade område som ett klassiskt markanalyserande vetenskapligt instrument kan täcka. En lösning på dessa problem har redan utforskats av tidigare praktikanter vid Spaceship EAC, vilket har resulterat i en uppsättning hårdvaruprototyper som kommunicerar via LoRa-protokollet i en Internet of Things-nätverkskonfiguration. Huvudidén bakom dessa enheter är att fungera både som sändare och mottagare av signaler, som en brygga mellan astronautens EVA-dräkt och markbasen, och som ett brett sensornätverk som kan samla in en stor mängd markdata från ett stort område (avgörande, till exempel på grund av den bevisade heterogeniteten i månjordens kemiska sammansättning mellan olika zoner).I denna avhandling undersöks möjligheten att miniatyrisera dessa prototyper och skapa en ny uppsättning mindre enheter med förbättrade funktioner och prestanda. Den designade enheten kallas CRUMB (Kompakt Radioenhet för Utsändning av Måndata), och varje enhet kan kommunicera med andra CRUMB-enheter via LoRa-frekvenser (868 MHz - standard för europeiska tillämpningar) och samtidigt svara på ett IoT mesh-protokoll. Via en accelerometersensor kan CRUMB-enheterna också skicka gravimetridata till resten av nätet och skicka ett nödmeddelande när en månbävning upptäcks. CRUMB:s volym är dessutom 92% mindre än föregångarens och den nominella energiförbrukningen är låg (mindre än 1 W).