Science and Instruments

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) was a robotic mission that orbited the Moon to gather detailed information about the lunar atmosphere, conditions near the surface, and environmental influences on lunar dust. A thorough understanding of these characteristics will address long-standing unknowns, and help scientists understand other planetary bodies as well.

Instruments
Technology Demonstration

LADEE had three science instruments and one technology demonstration onboard

Instruments

Illustration of the locations of LADEE's instruments
This illustration shows the locations of LADEE's instruments
NASA

Ultraviolet and Visible Light Spectrometer (UVS)

Determined the composition of the lunar atmosphere by analyzing light signatures of materials it finds. The Principal Investigator was Anthony Colaprete, NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.

Photograph of LADEE's Ultraviolet and Visible Light Spectrometer (UVS) instrument.
LADEE's Ultraviolet and Visible Light Spectrometer (UVS) instrument.
NASA

Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS)

Measured variations in the lunar atmosphere over multiple lunar orbits with the Moon in different space environments. The Principal Investigator was Paul Mahaffy, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. 

Photograph of LADEE’s Neutral Mass Spectrometer
LADEE’s Neutral Mass Spectrometer
NASA

Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX)

Collected and analyzed samples of any lunar dust particles in the tenuous atmosphere. These measurements will help scientists address a longstanding mystery: was lunar dust, electrically charged by solar ultraviolet light, responsible for the presunrise horizon glow that the Apollo astronauts saw? The Principal Investigator was Mihaly Horanyi, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder.

Photograph of LADEE’s Lunar Dust Experiment
LADEE’s Lunar Dust Experiment
NASA

Technology Demonstration


Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD)

Communications with spacecraft beyond close Earth orbits require spacecraft to have small, low-mass, low-power radio transmitters and giant satellite dishes on Earth to receive their messages. The LADEE spacecraft demonstrated the use of lasers instead of radio waves to achieve broadband speeds to communicate with Earth.

An illustration of the LADEE spacecraft showing the individual functional modules, and the locations of its three scientific instruments and one technology demonstration.
An illustration of the LADEE spacecraft showing the individual functional modules, and the locations of its three scientific instruments and one technology demonstration.
NASA