This is the first time the UK and India have collaborated in space science, and the UK partners will be following the progress of the launch in the early hours of Wednesday (22nd Oct) with an event at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). The event starts at 12:30 am BST and will end at around 2:30am. The launch is expected to take place at around 1:58 am.

The camera - C1XS - was designed and built at STFC Space Science and Technology Department at RAL. It is an X-Ray Spectrometer that will measure X-rays to map the surface composition of the Moon which will help scientists to understand its origin and evolution, as well as quantifying the mineral resources that exist there.

Chris Howe, C1XS Chief Engineer, from STFC Space Science and Technology Department said, "Launches are always an incredibly nail-biting and exciting time in a mission. After all our hard work, we're all eager to see C1XS safely on its way so that it can get to work uncovering more of the Moon's secrets."

Chandrayaan-1 is the first lunar mission from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is designed to orbit the Moon and carries radar and particle detectors as well as instruments that will make observations in the visible, near infrared and X-ray part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Dr Ian Crawford from Birkbeck College, who chairs the C1XS Science Team, said, "There is still a lot we don't know about the Moon. Accurate maps of the surface composition will help us unravel its internal structure and geological history.

Among other things this will help us better understand the origin of the Earth-Moon system. We will also be able to learn more about what happened on the Moon since it formed and how and when it cooled. By peering into its craters, we may even be able to see below its crust to the material underneath."

C1XS was developed in conjunction with the Indian Space Research Organisation. It employs new technology to make a compact, lightweight, sensitive instrument that can measure the abundances of chemical elements in the lunar surface, by detecting the X-rays they absorb and re-emit. The spectrometer builds on a successful technology demonstration called D-CIXS, which was launched aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Smart-1 mission to the Moon.

Prof Manuel Grande, C1XS Principal Investigator, Aberystwyth University, said, "In the UK we are rapidly becoming the world's leading maker of planetary X-ray instruments. C1XS will cement this position, and paves the way for UK leadership of similar instruments at Mercury and elsewhere in the Solar System."

C1XS will work by looking at X-rays from the Sun which have been absorbed by atoms in the lunar soil, then re-emitted in such a way as to reveal the chemistry of the surface. The spectrometer is sensitive to magnesium, aluminium and silicon X-rays.

When the solar X-ray illumination is bright, for example during a solar flare, it may also be able to make measurements of other elements such as iron, titanium and calcium. To make accurate measurements of the surface elements it is essential to measure the X-rays being produced by the Sun.

C1XS has an additional detector system to measure these X-rays called the X-ray Solar Monitor (XSM) which is provided by the University of Helsinki Observatory, Finland.

"C1XS uses an advanced version of conventional CCD sensors such as you might find in a digital camera, called swept charge devices. These are mounted behind a gold/copper 'collimator', which limits the field of view of the X-ray detectors to a narrow beam. Together these two innovations form an X-ray camera that has high resolution allowing identification of the surface elements, yet is far more compact and lower mass than other spacecraft's X-ray spectrometers." Said Chris Howe, C1XS Chief Engineer, from STFC Space Science and Technology Department.

Dr Ian Crawford concluded, "There is currently a renaissance in lunar exploration, with many international lunar missions either underway or planned for the next few years, leading up to the planned return of astronauts to the lunar surface by 2020. Through its involvement in C1XS, the UK is playing an important role in this international activity."

Related Links
UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more

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