The Site-agnostic Energetic Lunar Ion and Neutron Environment (SELINE), which is led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), has been selected as one of three payloads recently selected for delivery to the Moon through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign. Associate Professor Konstantin Herbst is one of the team's Co-Investigators.
As we are preparing for a return of astronauts to the Moon, it remains critical to understand the risks associated with space radiation of both galactic and solar origin for safe and successful missions. On the Moon and other airless bodies in the Solar System, this incident radiation interacts with the lunar regolith—the fine dust on the Moon’s surface—creating a complex and potentially intense environment of secondary particle radiation.
The SELINE payload aims to enhance our understanding of the Moon’s radiation environment by studying, for the first time at the lunar surface, the radiation from both cosmic rays and secondary particles, as well as the impact of this radiation on the lunar regolith.
The ~100 mio. NOK project is being carried out in partnership with colleagues at UC Berkeley and NASA Johnson Space Center/KBR.
More information can be found at https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/new-nasa-artemis-payloads-to-study-moons-terrain-radiation-history/ and https://www.jhuapl.edu/news/news-releases/260121-apl-selected-investigate-space-radiation-effects-lunar-surface.