The Apollo 15 and 16 X-ray fluorescent experiment.
Abstract
An X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was flown aboard the Apollo 15 and 16 spacecrafts orbiting the moon. The X-ray instrument was used to produce a chemical map of that portion of the moon covered by the projected ground tracks and illuminated by the sun during the period of flight. The instrument includes three thin windowed proportional counters, two of which have selected X-ray filters. The field of view of the surface is determined by a collimator, while a detector on the opposite side of the spacecraft provides a continuous monitoring of the solar X-ray output. While the number of chemical elements determined was limited to Mg, Al, and Si, these proved to be very important diagnostic elements.
- Publication:
-
Space Science Instrumentation
- Pub Date:
- August 1975
- Bibcode:
- 1975SSI.....1..305A
- Keywords:
-
- Apollo 15 Flight;
- Apollo 16 Flight;
- Fluorescence;
- Solar X-Rays;
- Spaceborne Astronomy;
- X Ray Spectra;
- Chemical Elements;
- Collimators;
- Experiment Design;
- In-Flight Monitoring;
- Proportional Counters;
- Spacecraft Instruments;
- X Ray Astronomy;
- Instrumentation and Photography