Preparing and characterising new carbonaceous chondrite reference materials for verification of ESA’s PROSPECT package
R.J. Windmill, J.I. Mortimer, M. Anand, A.B. Verchovsky, S. Nicoara, R.C. Greenwood, J. Carpenter
Advances in Space Research
Available online 7 April 2026
“The European Space Agency’s PROSPECT payload consists of a sample acquisition and delivery drill system (ProSEED) and a miniaturized mass spectrometer sample analysis package (ProSPA) for deployment near the lunar south pole. The aim of PROSPECT is to drill up to 2 m below the lunar surface, then collect and analyse samples of icy regolith to determine the abundances and isotopic composition of volatile species present. In doing so, PROSPECT will provide critical ground truth for orbital measurements of hydrogen and water ice at the lunar surface. A key step in preparing for the operation of PROSPECT is the development of a set of well-defined reference materials, which are characterized for volatiles using high-precision/high-sensitivity equipment in a laboratory setting. This is an essential part of testing and refining the ProSPA bench development model (BDM) and ground reference model (GRM) as it becomes increasingly flight-ready. Important contributions to water and volatile delivery to the lunar surface from carbonaceous chondrite (CC) meteorites makes them ideal candidates as reference materials. Here we present a detailed summary of the bulk chemical composition, petrological characteristics, H, O, C, N, and noble gas (He, Ne, Ar) contents of two carbonaceous chondrites (CCs) to facilitate their use as reference materials in the current development of PROSPECT and other future payloads.”
