Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS): a set of infrared spectrometers for atmospheric measurements on board ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

摘要

The ACS package for ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is a part of Russian contribution to ExoMars ESA-Roscosmos mission. On the Orbiter it complements NOMAD investigation and is intended to recover in much extent the science lost with the cancellation of NASA MATMOS and EMCS infrared sounders. ACS includes three separate spectrometers, sharing common mechanical, electrical, and thermal interfaces. NIR is a versatile spectrometer for the spectral range of 0.7-1.6 μm with resolving power of ～20000. It is conceived on the principle of RUSALKA/ISS or SOIR/Venus Express experiments combining an echelle spectrometer and an AOTF (Acousto-Optical Tuneable Filter) for order selection. Up to 8 diffraction orders, each 10-20 nm wide can be measured in one sequence record. NIR will be operated principally in nadir, but also in solar occultations, and possibly on the limb. MIR is a high-resolution echelle instrument exclusively dedicated to solar occultation measurements in the range of 2.2-4.4 μm targeting the resolving power of 50000. The order separation is done by means of a steerable grating cross-disperser, allowing instantaneous coverage of up to 300-nm range of the spectrum for one or two records per second. MIR is dedicated to sensitive measurements of trace gases, approaching MATMOS detection thresholds for many species. TIRVIM is a 2-inch double pendulum Fourier-transform spectrometer for the spectral range of 1.7-17 μm with apodized resolution varying from 0.2 to 1.6 cm~(-1). TIRVIM is primarily dedicated to monitoring of atmospheric temperature and aerosol state in nadir, and would contribute in solar occultation to detection/reducing of upper limits of some components absorbing beyond 4 μm, complementing MIR and NOMAD. Additionally, TIRVIM targets the methane mapping in nadir, using separate detector optimized for 3.3-μm range. The concept of the instrument and in more detail the optical design and the expected parameters of its three parts, channel by channel are described.