The NASA Discovery Moon Mineralogy Mapper Imaging Spectrometer: Science Mission Overview and Instrument Laboratory Calibration

The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) was selected as a NASA Discovery Mission of Opportunity in 2005 and is scheduled for launch in 2008 as a guest instrument on the Chandrayaan-1 mission of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). M3 is an optically fast and high uniformity imaging spectrometer of the Offner pushbroom design form. The M3 instrument measures the spectral range from 430 to 3000 nm with target mode sampling of 10 nm contiguously across the spectrum. The field of view is 24 degrees or 40 km from the nominal 100 km orbit. The spatial sampling is nominally 70 m in full resolution target mode. M3 is planned to image the surface of the moon in four optical periods over the course off a nominal two year mission. M3 will begin measurements in global mode and collect a full spectral map of the moon with reduced spectral and spatial resolution. Full resolution target mode will be used to collect a large number of data sets from locations and regions of designated scientific interest. In this paper we present the scientific basis for the M3 measurement approach, the mission science objectives as part of Chadrayaan-1 as well as an overview of the development, calibration, and current instrument status.