Ground calibration and in-flight commissioning of the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (GRNS) for NASA’s Psyche mission
NASA's Psyche spacecraft is currently enroute to the asteroid 16 Psyche, where it will perform an orbital investigation focused on determining the nature of the asteroid. A key part of this investigation is measurements of elemental composition to determine if the asteroid is rich in iron-nickel metal. To that end, the Psyche spacecraft payload includes a Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (GRNS). GRNS is composed of two subsystems; a Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) with a high-purity germanium γ-ray sensor surrounded by a borated plastic scintillator Anti-Coincidence Shield (ACS), and a Neutron Spectrometer (NS) with three 3 He-filled gas proportional counters that are sensitive to different neutron energy regimes. We describe results from the pre-launch calibration campaign, along with early in-flight results from post-launch instrument commissioning. The information detailed here is focused on providing future users of GRNS data with the information needed to properly interpret the observations from the instrument.
Authors
- Poquet Arthur
- Sarah Bairstow
- P. N. Peplowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7154-8143)
- M. de Soria‐Santacruz Pich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8431-6894)
- Edward Livingston
- Shuo Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5410-9170)
- M. LeBlanc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5977-6418)
- Nathan Hines (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0852-5990)
- Elizabeth Ann Barrett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6433-7137)
- M. Burks (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3538-920X)
- D. J. Lawrence (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7696-6667)
- Mariella Graziano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3437-3211)
- J. Goldsten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7009-6288)
- Erin Hoffer
- R. C. Espiritu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5091-827X)
- Kathryn M. Marcotte
- Zachary W. Yokley
- Michelle Lawrence
- Samuel Fix
- Steven L. Krupa
- Jacqueline Beechert
- Eleanor Alonge
Institutions
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment
- Published
- 2025-04-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2025.170542
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Nuclear Physics and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.77