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 that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

radiometer A radiometer or roentgenometer is a device for measuring the radiant flux (power) of electromagnetic radiation. Generally, a radiometer is an infrared radiation detector or an ultraviolet detector. Microwave radiometers operate in the micro ...

aboard

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

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

, 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 human spaceflight, crewed missions to the Moon. The program gathers data such as lunar radiation, surface imaging, areas of scientific i ...

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 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 land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Spacecraft instruments Radiometry