Spectrometer to Explore Isotopologues of Lunar Volatiles on Luna-27 Lander (2311.14608v1)

Abstract: The study of volatiles and the search for water are the primary objectives of the Luna-27 mission, which is planned to land on the south pole of the Moon in 2028. Here we present the tunable Diode Laser Spectrometer (DLS-L) that will be onboard the lander. The DLS-L will perform isotopic analysis of volatiles that are pyrolytically evolved from regolith. This article dives into the design of the spectrometer and the characterisation of isotopic signature retrieval. We look forward to expanding our knowledge of Lunar geochemistry by measuring D/H, 18O/17O/16O, 13C/12C ratios in situ, which could be the one-of-a-kind direct study of the lunar soil isotopy without sample contamination.