New science instruments proposal(equipement that will help you to search for mineral deposits in MCO on large field)
I was doing my daily research on possible equipement on Mars.
Since I couldn't find anything interesting enough I searched for proposed science equipement that will be used on the Moon base instead.
The concept of those instruments is of course the same.
Here's what I find and propose to implement in MCO:
- Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS)
- Neutron Spectrometer (NS)
- Alpha Particle Spectrometer (APS)
- Magnetometer (MAG)
- Electron Reflectometer (ER)
---> MAG + ER = MAG/ER equipement.
Those instruments not only give us precious scientific geological data, but are mainly used to narrow the drilling sites for searching specific ores.
Each of those instruments could be picked-up by a player which would walk with it to the field and use it when needed.
Below I quote some info about every one of them.
GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETER
or
http://www.uavsurvey.ca/images/Gamma-Ray%20Super%20Spectrometer%20Scintillometer%20w.jpgThe gamma-ray spectrometer is a more advanced system than was flown on the Apollo missions and will provide global maps of the elemental composition of the surface layer of the Moon. The main elements mapped are uranium, thorium, potassium, iron, titanium, oxygen, silicon, aluminum, magnesium and calcium. Knowledge of the concentrations of these elements over the entire lunar surface will aid in understanding the composition and evolution of the lunar crust.
Though uranium, thorium and potassium are only trace elements, they are found concentrated in a material called KREEP (potassium [K], rare earth elements [REE] and phosphorus [P]). KREEP is not only the main source of these elements, but many other important trace elements such as zirconium, fluorine and chlorine. Mapping the locations and concentrations of KREEP deposits is important to lunar science as it is believed that the material developed late in the formation of the lunar crust and upper mantle, and thus can help define how the crust and mantle formed and evolved. Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) and Neutron Spectrometer (NS) The GRS and NS will return global data on elemental abundances, which will be used to help understand the evolution of the lunar highland crust and the duration and extent of basaltic volcanism, and to assess lunar resources. The NS will also locate any significant quantities of water ice which may exist in the permanently shadowed areas near the lunar poles.
NEUTRON SPECTROMETER
or
http://img.directindustry.com/images_di/press/press-b/portable-isotopic-neutron-spectroscopy-gamma-x-detector-pins-gmx-P341029.jpgWhile the Moon does not have any water of its own, theoretical calculations suggest that water brought to the Moon by comets and water-rich meteoroids may be frozen in the bottom of small craters in the polar regions. The floors of some small craters located within 30 degrees of the north and south poles never see sunlight and have continuous temperatures below -190 degrees centigrade. At such temperatures, water ice would be stable over the lifetime of the solar system. The neutron spectrometer on Lunar Prospector has a water ice detectability limit of better than 0.01%, which means it can locate 200 grams of water (a cup of water) in a cubic meter (about a cubic yard) of regolith (lunar soil). The discovery of lunar polar ice would have a profound effect on the economics and logistics of the
exploration and colonization of the Moon and the inner solar system. It would mean that water, necessary for life support and as a source of both
oxygen and hydrogen needed to produce rocket propellant, would be available in situ to future lunar explorers.
ALPHA PARTICLE SPECTROMETER
Alpha Particle Spectrometer (APS) The APS instrument will be used to find radon outgassing events on the lunar surface by detecting alpha particles from the radon gas itself and its decay product, polonium. Observations of the frequency and locations of the gas release events will help characterize one possible source of the tenuous lunar atmosphere. Determination of the relationship of outgassing sites with crater age and tectonic features may be possible. This may in turn be used to characterize the current level of lunar tectonic activity. The alpha particle experiment is an advanced version of an experiment flown on Apollo 15 and 16. It will determine the locations and frequency of gas release events by detecting alpha particles from both radioactive radon gas and its decay product, polonium. This is the only orbital instrument which provides information on the current level of tectonic and volcanic out-gassing activity of the Moon. Thus, it provides unique information about the Moon which, until Apollo, was thought to be tectonically and volcanically dead. As a result of the Apollo surface seismometers and mass spectrometer and the orbiting alpha particle experiment, scientists now know that the Moon is active, though much less so than Earth or Mars.
MAGNETOMETER AND ELECTRON REFLECTOMETER --->
MAG/ER
Magnetometer alone:
http://www.walkerscientific.com/Products/Product_Lines/Magnetic_Measuring/Gaussmeters/Portable_Hand-Held_Magnetomete/mg7d.gifThe Moon does not have a global magnetic field like the Earth, however, weak fields of local extent do exist. Mapping the strengths and distributions of these local fields over the Moon will determine if they were caused by an earlier global magnetic field like the Earth's, if they were caused by meteoroid impacts, or if they have some other origin. The data should also provide information on the size and composition of the lunar core and, coupled with Neutron Spectrometer data, could reveal correlations between magnetic fields and solar wind implanted hydrogen and helium concentrations. Magnetometer (MAG) and Electron Reflectometer (ER) The MAG/ER experiments will return data on the lunar crustal magnetic field and the lunar induced magnetic dipole. These data will help provide an understanding of the origin of lunar paleomagnetism and the degree to which impacts can produce paleomagnetism, and allow constraints on the size and composition of the (possible) lunar core. On Earth, magnetic mapping is an important tool for locating economically important ore bodies. Similarly, the magnetic experiments will provide information to help understand the economic potential of the Moon.
Note from Marco2001: High Magnetic field detected on Mars region gives us two important informations: one - there is nearby a large ore of magnetic properties, two - the radiation here is slightly smaller due to magnetic shielding.
Quotes are from:
http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/lunarp/schandbk.pdf 
