Diviner, also referred to as the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE), is an

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...

radiometer aboard

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to ...

, part of the

Lunar Precursor Robotic Program The Lunar Precursor Robotic Program (LPRP) is a NASA program that uses robotic spacecraft to prepare for future manned missions to the Moon. The program gathers data such as lunar radiation, surface imaging, areas of scientific interest, temperat ...

which is studying the Moon. It has been used to create temperature maps of the Moon's surface, as well as detect ice deposits and surface composition. The instrument has measured temperatures of in a crater at the northern pole and in craters at the southern pole. On 9 October 2009, the Diviner team announced the detection of a hot spot on the Moon at the location of the

LCROSS The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA. The mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining the nature of hydrogen detected at the polar regions of the Moon. Launched immedi ...

spacecraft impact site.

References

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External links

Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment
at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Spacecraft instruments Radiometry