LRO CRaTER (Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation)

Data Usage

These science-quality data are provided by the University of New Hampshire/Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space.

Instrument Description

CRaTER consists of six silicon detectors (D1 to D6) in thin/thick pairs separated by two sections of Tissue Equivalent Plastic of different thickness (54 mm and 27 mm, respectively). The thin detectors (140 μm; D1, D3, D5) are optimized for high energy deposits and the thick detectors (1000 μm; D2, D4, D6) are optimized for low energy deposits, in particular, for protons. D1 and D2 are facing deep space, while D5 and D6 are facing the lunar surface. Endcaps shield the detectors from protons with less than ~13MeV. Extra mass placed around the edges of the detectors provides additional shielding from some particles which may be able to penetrate through the sides of the instrument.

Data Description

Hourly dose rates are derived by summing up the deposited energies in each separate (or pair of) silicon detector over hourly periods and dividing by the detector's mass. Dose rates are converted by dose in silicon to dose in water with the conversion factor of 1.333 and are altitude corrected to the lunar surface. More details on the dose rate derivation can be found at https://crater-web.sr.unh.edu/algorithms.html.

References

To be updated