Home :: News :: Polychromix Partners with NASA in Development of Lunar Spectroscopy Solution

Polychromix Partners with NASA in Development of Lunar Spectroscopy Solution

By: Yariv Geller

WILMINGTON, Mass.--(October 30, 2006)--Polychromix®, Inc., a leading developer of innovative spectroscopy solutions, today announced a collaboration agreement with NASA to provide Digital Transform Spectrometers (DTS™) tools for determining water content on the surface of the moon.

Under the agreement, NASA will outfit the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) with Polychromix near-infrared spectrometers. NASA chose Polychromix’s technology because of its unique combination of low power consumption, small size, low weight, robust design, lack of moving parts, and high reliability – all essential features for mission-critical measurements. The Polychromix near-infrared spectrometer will be included in the research vehicle to identify the presence of water ice at the moon's south pole. The LCROSS mission (see http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/) will send a 2000-kg impactor smashing into a permanently shadowed crater on the moon’s south pole, ejecting a plume of lunar surface material that will be analyzed from lunar orbit by two Polychromix spectrometers, as well as several other instruments and cameras, aboard the LCROSS Shepherding Spacecraft.

To answer an intensely debated question in the astrophysics community, the key goal of NASA's LCROSS mission is to determine the presence or absence of lunar ice in one of the moon’s coldest locations, a permanently shadowed crater near the south pole. If present at sufficient concentrations, ice could be used in future long-term lunar missions for everything from rocket fuel raw material to human life support. The LCROSS mission, including Polychromix’s technology, will help resolve any ambiguities in recent measurements suggesting the presence of lunar ice.

“We are honored that NASA selected Polychromix’s DTS™ technology for this exciting endeavor,” said Dan Klevisha, Vice President of infrared Systems at Polychromix. “Our selection for the mission is a testimonial to the breakthrough technology provided by DTS™ and our commitment to building quality products.”

About Polychromix

Polychromix is a leading developer of innovative cost-effective material analysis and spectroscopy solutions. Based on a patented MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) core technology, Polychromix is focused on delivering a new generation of portable and powerful analytical tools at unprecedented cost. The Polychromix Phazir is the first NIR analyzer to incorporate an NIR spectrometer, lightsource, computer, batteries and color display in a handheld device. For more information, visit www.polychromix.com.

Click Here to download a Phazir ™ product sheet.

(You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can get here).