Near Infrared Spectrometer SIR-2 on Chandrayaan-1

Abstract

Chandrayaan-1, the first Indian mission to the Moon, will provide an opportunity for in situ lunar observations over a two-year period from a 100 km polar orbit. A comprehensive suite of onboard instruments will include the SIR-2 near-infrared grating spectrometer. SIR-2, a pointing spectrometer, will observe the Moon in the spectral range 900―2400 nm, with a unique spectral resolution of 6 nm over a wide range of phase angles. The high resolution SIR-2 observations, particularly of the lunar far side and polar region, are expected to have a large impact on our understanding of the mineralogy and composition of the Moon.