Modeling the expected performance of the REgolith x-ray imaging spectrometer (REXIS)

Niraj K. Inamdar; Richard P. Binzel; Jae Sub Hong; Branden Allen; Jonathan Grindlay; Rebecca A. Masterson

doi:10.1117/12.2062202

19 September 2014 Modeling the expected performance of the REgolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS)

Niraj K. Inamdar, Richard P. Binzel, Jae Sub Hong, Branden Allen, Jonathan Grindlay, Rebecca A. Masterson

Proceedings Volume 9222, Imaging Spectrometry XIX; 922207 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2062202
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2014, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

OSIRIS-REx is the third spacecraft in the NASA New Frontiers Program and is planned for launch in 2016. OSIRIS-REx will orbit the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu, characterize it, and return a sample of the asteroid’s regolith back to Earth. The Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) is an instrument on OSIRIS-REx designed and built by students at MIT and Harvard. The purpose of REXIS is to collect and image sun-induced fluorescent X-rays emitted by Bennu, thereby providing spectroscopic information related to the elemental makeup of the asteroid regolith and the distribution of features over its surface. Telescopic reflectance spectra suggest a CI or CM chondrite analog meteorite class for Bennu, where this primitive nature strongly motivates its study. A number of factors, however, will influence the generation, measurement, and interpretation of the X-ray spectra measured by REXIS. These include: the compositional nature and heterogeneity of Bennu, the time-variable solar state, X-ray detector characteristics, and geometric parameters for the observations. In this paper, we will explore how these variables influence the precision to which REXIS can measure Bennu’s surface composition. By modeling the aforementioned factors, we place bounds on the expected performance of REXIS and its ability to ultimately place Bennu in an analog meteorite class.

Citation Download Citation

Niraj K. Inamdar, Richard P. Binzel, Jae Sub Hong, Branden Allen, Jonathan Grindlay, and Rebecca A. Masterson "Modeling the expected performance of the REgolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS)", Proc. SPIE 9222, Imaging Spectrometry XIX, 922207 (19 September 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2062202

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