Space technology is more accessible
On changes in the manner space technology is evolving, and its effect on lunar explorations
One of the major changes currently happening in lunar exploration is that space technology is no longer a prerogative of large organisations. It is being evolved at the level of individuals. Smart-I is a good example. We were a very small group at Appleton, and we built D-CIX, the X-ray instrument for S mart-I. It took us two and a half years from beginning to end. This gradual dissemination of technology and the spreading of expertise will make space technology more accessible in the years to come.
At the technological level, the spacecraft you see nowadays are much smaller, smarter and cheaper than Apollo or Luna. This is generic across much of space technology. That means a fairly good number of countries can have their lunar programmes either on their own, or jointly with others. That is definitely good for lunar science.
The recent smaller missions picked out major gaps in lunar science, particularly in understanding the formation and early history of the moon. Those are important questions. The earth-moon system is the only double-planet system in the solar system. And Earth is the only inhabited planet in the solar system. So it is extremely important to explore whether there is any connection between the two.
On the X-ray spectrometer developed by his team
The infrared spectrometer will measure the mineral compounds, while the x -ray spectrometer will measure the elements. The minerals will give you an idea about the evolution and history of the moon, whereas the elements will help us understand the sources from which they have been transported to the moon.
Ours is a first-of-a-kind instrument. There was one flown on Apollo. But D-CIX is much smarter. It can see around a dozen elements. In comparision, the one Apollo had could see only three
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