Ralph: a visible/infrared imager for the New Horizons Pluto/Kuiper Belt mission

Reuter, Dennis C.; Stern, S. A.; Scherrer, J.; Jennings, Donald E.; Baer, James W.; Hanley, J.; Hardaway, Lisa; Lunsford, Allen; McMuldroch, Stuart; Moore, Jeffrey M.; Olkin, C. B.; Parizek, Robert; Reitsma, Harold; Sabatke, Derek; Spencer, J. R.; Stone, John Marshall; Throop, H. B.; Cleve, Jeffrey Van; Weigle, Gerald; Young, L. A.

doi:10.1117/12.617901

Cited by 26 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will get a much more detailed view when it flies through the Pluto system in 2015 (Young et al, 2008). New Horizons' Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA) will return near-infrared spectral maps covering wavelengths from 1.25 to 2.50 lm at a spectral resolution of R % 240 with higher resolution coverage of R % 560 between 2.10 and 2.25 m (Reuter et al, 2008). LEISA will map Pluto's ices at spatial resolutions as high as 10 km/pixel.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Near-infrared spectral monitoring of Pluto’s ices: Spatial distribution and secular evolution

Grundy

Olkin

Young

et al. 2013

Icarus

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a b s t r a c tWe report results from monitoring Pluto's 0.8 to 2.4 lm reflectance spectrum with IRTF/SpeX on 65 nights over the dozen years from 2001 to 2012. The spectra show vibrational absorption features of simple molecules CH 4 , CO, and N 2 condensed as ices on Pluto's surface. These absorptions are modulated by the planet's 6.39 day rotation period, enabling us to constrain the longitudinal distributions of the three ices. Absorptions of CO and N 2 are concentrated on Pluto's anti-Charon hemisphere, unlike absorptions of less volatile CH 4 ice that are offset by roughly 90°from the longitude of maximum CO and N 2 absorption. In addition to the diurnal variations, the spectra show longer term trends. On decadal timescales, Pluto's stronger CH 4 absorption bands have been getting deeper, while the amplitude of their diurnal variation is diminishing, consistent with additional CH 4 absorption at high northern latitudes rotating into view as the sub-Earth latitude moves north (as defined by the system's angular momentum vector). Unlike the CH 4 absorptions, Pluto's CO and N 2 absorptions appear to be declining over time, suggesting more equatorial or southerly distributions of those species. Comparisons of geometrically-matched pairs of observations favor geometric explanations for the observed secular changes in CO and N 2 absorption, although seasonal volatile transport could be at least partly responsible. The case for a volatile transport contribution to the secular evolution looks strongest for CH 4 ice, despite it being the least volatile of the three ices.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Near-infrared spectral monitoring of Pluto’s ices: Spatial distribution and secular evolution

Grundy

Olkin

Young

et al. 2013

Icarus

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“…The panchromatic basemap (Schenk et al, ) was constructed using images from the LOng‐Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI; Cheng et al, ) and Multi‐spectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC; Howett et al, ; Reuter et al, ). The basemap is rendered at 300 m/pixel.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data from the Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA), a short‐wavelength IR spectral imager (Reuter et al, ), were processed to produce mineralogy maps (Dalle Ore et al, ; Grundy, Binzel et al, ), which were used for mapping as an ancillary data product.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geologic Landforms and Chronostratigraphic History of Charon as Revealed by a Hemispheric Geologic Map

et al. 2019

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Geologic mapping has been used for over 200 years as a technique to synthesize a complicated surface into a more simplified product, identifying similar types of surface features, and placing them into a relative stratigraphy. Geomorphologic mapping has applied those principles to other terrestrial bodies throughout the solar system and has formed an important product set to understand these surfaces, plan future exploration, and conduct different scientific endeavors. We created a geomorphologic map of the New Horizons encounter hemisphere of Pluto's binary companion, Charon. Ten primary geomorphologic unit categories were identified, covering approximately 35% of Charon's surface, and we used lower resolution data to speculate about other regions of Charon. Over 1,000 linear features were mapped, nearly 90% of them are tectonic in nature, and we use these to provide evidence of Charon being active in its past. Additionally, we placed the mapped features into a chronostratigraphic sequence, and we present a possible surface history for the body. The northern terrain typified by large crustal blocks is the oldest, having fractured early in Charon's history, and potentially similar blocks were submerged in a cryoflow of which the now solid surface of Vulcan Planitia is the remnant today.

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“…On board New Horizons is a suite of remote sensing imagers and fields and particle detectors (see Weaver et al, for overview). The instruments most relevant to geological and compositional investigations are the Long‐Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA), and Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC), the specifications of which are described in detail elsewhere (Cheng et al, ; Reuter et al, ; Stern, Weaver, et al, ). Because the rotational period, shape, and rotation axis orientation of Ultima are not known, it is unclear how much of the object will be seen at high resolution.…”

Section: Highlights Of the Planned Observations By New Horizonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ability of the LEISA imaging spectrometer on New Horizons to detect ices on Ultima depends on the presence of suitably strong spectral absorption bands in its operational wavelength range of 1.25–2.5 μm and native spectral resolution λ/Δλ = 240 (Reuter et al, ). H 2 O, CH 4 , CH 3 OH, and NH 3 meet these criteria; in data of high signal precision (signal/noise ratio), NH 3 hydrates can also be detected, as they were on Pluto's satellites Charon, Nix, and Hydra (Cook et al, ).…”

Section: Compositional Knowledge and Speculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Great Expectations: Plans and Predictions for New Horizons Encounter With Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU₆₉ (“Ultima Thule”)

Moore

McKinnon²,

Cruikshank

et al. 2018

Geophysical Research Letters

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The New Horizons encounter with the cold classical Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 (informally named “Ultima Thule,” hereafter Ultima) on 1 January 2019 will be the first time a spacecraft has ever closely observed one of the free‐orbiting small denizens of the Kuiper Belt. Related to but not thought to have formed in the same region of the solar system as the comets that been explored so far, it will also be the most distant, and most primitive body yet visited by spacecraft. In this letter we begin with a brief overview of cold classical Kuiper Belt objects, of which Ultima is a prime example. We give a short preview of our encounter plans. We note what is currently known about Ultima from Earth‐based observations. We then review our expectations and capabilities to evaluate Ultima's composition, surface geology, structure, near space environment, small moons, rings, and the search for activity.

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Ralph: a visible/infrared imager for the New Horizons Pluto/Kuiper Belt mission

Cited by 26 publications

References 8 publications

Near-infrared spectral monitoring of Pluto’s ices: Spatial distribution and secular evolution

Near-infrared spectral monitoring of Pluto’s ices: Spatial distribution and secular evolution

Geologic Landforms and Chronostratigraphic History of Charon as Revealed by a Hemispheric Geologic Map

Great Expectations: Plans and Predictions for New Horizons Encounter With Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU₆₉ (“Ultima Thule”)

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Ralph: a visible/infrared imager for the New Horizons Pluto/Kuiper Belt mission

Cited by 26 publications

References 8 publications

Near-infrared spectral monitoring of Pluto’s ices: Spatial distribution and secular evolution

Near-infrared spectral monitoring of Pluto’s ices: Spatial distribution and secular evolution

Geologic Landforms and Chronostratigraphic History of Charon as Revealed by a Hemispheric Geologic Map

Great Expectations: Plans and Predictions for New Horizons Encounter With Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU69 (“Ultima Thule”)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Great Expectations: Plans and Predictions for New Horizons Encounter With Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU₆₉ (“Ultima Thule”)