A Lens on Moon Exploration
11th Oct 2024The year is 1969. July 20, 20:17 UTC, to be exact. It’s a monumental leap for humankind that will forever be etched in history. An estimated 650 million viewers sit in front of their televisions, tuning in to witness the Apollo 11 landing. It’s the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin will set a historic turning point as the first humans to ever walk on the Moon. Fast forward just three years to December 11, 1972, and Apollo 17 concludes the operation and its affiliated piloted landings, with Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt leaving the last human treads on lunar soil. Yet, the story doesn’t end here. Now, in 2024, space bodies around the world are getting ready for next-generation endeavours, pushing the boundaries of lunar investigation and laying the groundwork for the road ahead.
Image Source: NASA Unsplash
Crewed or uncrewed, space missions demand a multitude of high-precision optical components to help with everything from communication and navigation to imaging and additional observations. With several scheduled moon expeditions on the horizon for space agencies worldwide, optics are being utilised both here on Earth in strategy setups and deployed as payloads aboard spacecraft.
Fly Me to the Moon: Human-Crewed Exploration
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA)
It’s been 52 years since Cernan and Schmitt left their footprints on lunar terrain. Now, there’s a renewed universal race to return to the Moon. China’s goal of touching down its astronauts on our celestial neighbour by the year 2030 has seen The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) unveil a series of advancements. The latest is a brand-new lightweight spacesuit – with helmets featuring long- and short-focal-length cameras and multi-functional control consoles on its chest[1]. The specifics of its lunar spacecraft, ‘Mengzhou’, and the announcement of a three-stage plan to create a fully optimised research base on the Moon by 2050 have also been key highlights amongst the space community[2].
Image Source: NASA Unsplash
NASA
As the world-renowned space authority behind the first-ever landing, NASA is gearing up again to deploy its astronauts back to the Moon. This time via its Artemis scheme. Within the next decade, the pioneering space research body is committed to writing the record books once more by landing the first woman and person of colour on the Moon[3], highlighting its dedication to diversity and inclusion in space exploration.
The four-phase campaign sequence will see NASA aiming to launch Artemis II by 2026[4]. The assignment will send four astronauts on a 10-day flight around the Moon to ensure that the crewed spacecraft, ‘Orion’, and its systems function as required in a deep space environment. Further plans for Artemis III and IV will follow.
Despite noted setbacks, recent activity has ramped up in preparation for NASA’s 2026 deadline. This includes the establishment of the moon’s very own dedicated time zone. To assist with scheduling and to support the formation of a prospective long-term lunar base, NASA will collaborate with the U.S. Government, commercial partners, and international standards organisations to establish ‘Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC)[5].
Uncrewed Missions
NASA
Technology has made significant strides since the first, and last, human walk on the Moon. Today’s devices and tech, which have been used on uncrewed craft since then, have provided even greater insights into the unknowns of lunar geography, environmental conditions, and potential resources, further expanding our understanding of the Moon and beyond.
Image Source: Alexander Andrews Unsplash
A range of optical-led technologies played a vital role in this venture, encompassing:
- Cameras and Imaging Systems: ‘Stereo cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies’ and narrow-field-of-view cameras captured images whilst in transit and after landing[6]
- Laser Retroreflector Array: This passive instrument was used for laser ranging, forming a permanent location marker on the Moon[6]
- Navigation Doppler LiDAR: Alongside the Radio Frequency Mass Gauge, this process collected data during the lander’s powered descent and landing[6].
In September, NASA issued a call for open innovation to tackle key navigational challenges on the Moon as part of its Artemis campaign. Offering cash prizes totalling up to $50,000, NASA is inviting talented innovators to develop system designs through its ‘Find Me on the Moon’ challenge[7]. This two-part task involves creating a low-tech navigation aid to help astronauts traverse the lunar surface and safely return to their lander, as well as designing a high-tech solution to map and explore the Shackleton Crater – which is 13 miles in diameter and 2.6 miles deep – at the Moon’s south pole, including collecting and transmitting data for future missions.
The UK’s Role in Space Exploration
Back in February, the UK strengthened its position in lunar exploration. New funding from the UK Space Agency – which also plays a part in major global Mars and Venus plans – advanced UK-built software and tools for lunar exploration across universities nationwide. One standout illustration is the University of Leicester, which is leading the development of a Raman Spectroscopy instrument for iSpace’s commercial rover and lander missions to investigate water ice on the Moon. Other notable collaborations include the Open University and the universities of Sussex, Aberdeen, and Cambridge, teaming up with NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)[8].
Space-Bound Raman Spectroscopy
Image Source: NASA Unsplash
No stranger to the realms of space exploration, and perhaps best known as a huge potential for helping to answer one of the world’s most pressing questions – and David Bowie’s, of course – ‘Is there life on Mars?’, Raman Spectroscopy is becoming a favourite among scientists working in space exploration[9], best recognised as part of the Mars Perseverance Rover. With its ability to identify everything from minerals and rocks to soil and even uncovering past potentially habitable environments on the Red Planet, Raman Spectroscopy is also proving invaluable in similar applications roughly 249 million miles away on the Moon.
Here, the laser-based system holds significant potential to deepen our understanding of the Moon, particularly in terms of mineral identification, water and ice detection (as planned for iSpace’s commercial rover), soil analysis, and the groundwork for a prospective lunar base. This scientific technique is also highly likely to be employed in NASA’s Artemis mission, especially for analysing lunar samples collected from the Moon’s surface[10].
Optical Components for Moon Exploration
From LiDAR and laser-based devices to cameras, imaging systems, and Raman spectroscopy, optics are a crucial element in moon exploration equipment.
Knight Optical: Windows and Diffusers
Lenses, Mirrors, Diffraction Gratings, Prisms, Depolarising Windows and Diffusers; optics chosen for moon exploration must, of course, meet the challenging atmospheric demands associated with deep space. Temperature variations, radiation, and abrasive dust all impact the performance of optics and, therefore, visual systems. Suitable substrates – such as Sapphire, known for its high durability and scratch resistance, and Zerodur, for its unmatched low thermal expansion properties, for example – must be considered.
Optical coatings also serve a crucial function. Depending on the mission in question and its end goals, optical components for lunar purposes can be specified with specific coatings, such as Anti-Reflective (AR) options to reduce reflections and improve light transmission, Diamond-Like carbon (DLC) for enhanced durability and Hydrophobic or Oleophobic coatings to repel dust, water, or other contaminants.
For more details on optical coatings, appropriate substrates and custom-made optical components specifically designed for space applications, please contact a member of the Knight Optical team.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] https://spacenews.com/china-unveils-lunar-spacesuit-for-crewed-moon-mission/
[2] https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/china-unveils-name-of-its-new-spacecraft-to-take-astronauts-on-lunar-mission-by-2030/3148369
[3] https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/
[4] https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-2-moon-mission-delay-september-2025
[5] https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-is-pushing-ahead-with-plans-to-set-a-time-zone-on-the-moon
[6] https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/clps/nasa-collects-first-surface-science-in-decades-via-commercial-moon-mission/
[7] https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/prizes-challenges-crowdsourcing-program/center-of-excellence-for-collaborative-innovation-coeci/find-me-on-the-moon-nasa-lunar-navigation-challenge/
[8] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-funding-ensures-uk-role-in-global-exploration-to-the-moon-mars-and-venus
[9] https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/using-raman-spectroscopy-to-detect-life-on-mars
[10] https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20220019345