Article ID: CBB001221513

The AFCRL Lunar and Planetary Research Branch (2011)

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The Lunar and Planetary research program led by Dr John (Jack) Salisbury in the 1960s at the United States Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories (AFCRL) investigated the surface characteristics of Solar System bodies. The Branch was one of the first groups to measure the infrared spectra of likely surface materials in the laboratory under appropriate vacuum and temperature conditions. The spectral atlases created from the results were then compared to photometric and spectral measurements obtained from ground- and balloon-based telescopes to infer the mineral compositions and physical conditions of the regoliths of the Moon, Mars and asteroids. Starting from scratch, the Branch initially sponsored observations of other groups while its in-house facilities were being constructed. The earliest contracted efforts include the spatially-resolved mapping of the Moon in the first half of the 1960s by Richard W. Shorthill and John W. Saari of the Boeing Scientific Research Laboratories in Seattle. This effort ultimately produced isophotal and isothermal contour maps of the Moon during a lunation and time-resolved thermal images of the eclipsed Moon. The Branch also sponsored probe rocket-based experiments flown by Riccardo Giacconi and his group at American Science and Engineering Inc. that produced the first observations of X-ray stars in 1962 and later the first interferometric measurement of the ozone and C02 emission in the upper atmosphere. The Branch also made early use of balloon-based measurements. This was a singular set of experiments, as these observations are among the very few mid-infrared astronomical measurements obtained from a balloon platform. Notable results of the AFCRL balloon flights were the mid-infrared spectra of the spatially-resolved Moon obtained with the University of Denver mid-infrared spectrometer on the Branch's balloon-borne 61-cm telescope during a 1968 flight. These observations remain among the best available. Salisbury also funded John Strong at the Johns Hopkins University for several near-infrared experiments which created a bit of a stir by detecting water vapor and ice high in the atmosphere of Venus. Once lunar geology transitioned from remote sensing to hands-on geology with the lunar landings, the Branch turned its attention to quantifying the thermal spectral emission from planets for their use as possible infrared calibration sources. The Branch and its research were phased out in 1976 when the program was terminated with the reorganization of AFCRL into the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory (AFGL).

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Description On the program at the United States Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories.


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Authors & Contributors
Forrest L. Marion
Sonett, C. P.
Determann, Jörg Matthias
Moskvitch, Katia
Michael W. Hankins
David Bath
Concepts
Astronomy
Solar system; planets
Astrophysics
Military technology
Instruments, astronomical
Space research and exploration
Time Periods
21st century
20th century, late
20th century
19th century
20th century, early
18th century
Places
United States
Middle and Near East
Afghanistan
Iraq
Sweden
Russia
Institutions
United States Air Force (USAF)
United States. Department of Defense
United States Space Force (USSF)
Northrop Grumman Corporation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
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