Concept of a MWIR spectrometer development for future lunar and planetary explorations

There was no mid-wave infrared (MWIR) spectrometer onboard any spacecraft for lunar exploration even though Cassini/VIMS and Deep Impact/HRI-IR observed the Moon during flyby on their ways to the main targets, i. e., Saturn and Comet, respectively. A MWIR spectrometer can provide useful information about the lunar and planetary environment, in particular, the water-ice absorption is observed near 3.1 micron, which can be one of direct evidence for the lunar water presence. We present the concept of a MWIR spectrometer for lunar and planetary explorations in order to discover the direct evidence of lunar water presence and to study on lunar dust and planetary atmosphere. We propose the preliminary specification of a MWIR spectrometer for lunar and planetary which is able to carry out the researches on lunar water and minerals, and planetary atmospheres.