Trailblazer of the Week

Laura Lee

4 October 2024

It’s one thing to find something you were already looking for, and a whole other to understand how it got there in the first place. This is what drives Lunar Trailblazer’s goal: to not only locate water on the Moon, but also determine its yet unknown nature and origin. And Laura Lee is thrilled to be part of that seminal search.

“Being part of an innovative mission that will help locate and understand the transport of water on the Moon for future missions is the most exciting part,” says Lee, a third year PhD student at Northern Arizona University and student collaborator on Trailblazer.

Lee’s work has been looking at lunar spectral data and using new models to understand where to look for water on the Moon. Using existing spectral libraries from M³ and Diviner, she’s applying thermal roughness corrections that can uncover hydration features by unmixing reflected and emitted light. Essentially, too much added light from emission hides the characteristic dip of water’s reflectance signature, and Lee’s job is to untangle it.

“The goal is to remove the thermal emission component from the spectra because the emission interferes with the detection of lunar hydration features,” Lee explains. “If the thermal component isn’t properly accounted for, the hydration feature can appear stronger or weaker than it truly is, which can result in an incorrect quantification of water.”

To resolve this entanglement, Lee uses a program that produces fixed emitted radiance data from the surface that accounts for the Moon’s variable topography at small scales, or “roughness.” This allows her to refine the reflectance data at greater resolution, modeling and separating the emission interference at relatively small, pixel or sub-pixel scales. This is crucial considering temperatures can be dramatically different mere millimeters apart across the rough lunar surface.

“In the end, we’ll use these different parameters derived on a pixel-by-pixel basis to help determine the radiance for an individual pixel that should be subtracted from the observed radiance spectrum,” says Lee. “This will allow us to accurately predict the reflectance measured by Trailblazer’s instruments.”

Lee’s modeling is already yielding results that are informing Trailblazer’s targets, and she’s excited to be looking at variations in latitude, local time, and observational geometry.

“If we see variation from observation at the same location, with the same local time at different viewing geometries, and then see the same pattern with changes in local time, we might be able to determine that water on the surface is not varying but is in fact a function of our thermal emission correction,” explains Lee. “We can optimize the model so that this doesn’t occur in future runs.”

Trailblazer isn’t the only small satellite Lee is currently working on. She is also the instrument scientist for the VISIONS camera aboard NASA’s EscaPADE mission to Mars, scheduled to launch in Fall 2024. Like Trailblazer, the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) mission is also part of NASA’s SIMPLEx program of Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration. EscaPADE’s objective is to study the Martian magnetosphere, and the Visible and Infrared Observation Systems (VISIONS) camera is designed to capture global scale images of Mars in both visible and infrared wavelengths simultaneously. Lee has also assisted in operations for the Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS) on the Emirates Mars Mission Hope.

“Both experiences have exposed me to different aspects of space missions ranging from instrument development to instrument operations,” says Lee. “By joining Lunar Trailblazer, I’ve been able to evolve my space mission experience by diving into data analysis.”

Before she was in pursuit of planetary science, Lee grew up in Frisco, Texas. While in high school she got involved in technical theater, building sets and taking the helm as the lead sound board operator.

“This role introduced me to a variety of technical fields, and in my senior year I took an Earth and Space Science class which introduced me to my love for space exploration,” she says. “I've now been able to combine these two interests by working on a variety of space-focused instruments and missions.”

After high school, Lee attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona to pursue a BS in Astronomy with a minor in Mathematics. As an undergraduate, she held leadership positions in the Society of Physics Students, Eagle Dance Crew, and her Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. She was in the graduating Class of 2020, and recalls how the Covid-19 lockdown affected her professional aims.

“Finding a STEM position post-graduation was super challenging,” she says. “I ended up working two jobs as an arcade technician and college lab assistant to learn new skills in unique ways. Sometimes you need to get creative when faced with difficult situations in order to get to where you want to be.”

When she isn’t working on spacecraft instrumentation, Lee enjoys going to concerts and music festivals, finding new and unique restaurants to try, and reading space science books. As she continues her PhD with her advisor and Trailblazer Co-Investigator Christopher Edwards, she’s set on helping to better determine the nature of water on the lunar surface.

“This is honestly an amazing opportunity to help advance humanity’s knowledge about water on the Moon!” she says. “I look forward to learning more about the lunar water cycle as this information will help shape the future of human space exploration.”

Laura Lee is a student collaborator at Northern Arizona University and Trailblazer of the Week!

Trailblazer of the Week is an ongoing series showcasing the diversity of experience and expertise that supports the collective determination of the Lunar Trailblazer mission.

By Emily Felder
Emily Felder is a Earth Science and Paleontology graduate student at UC Santa Barbara, former student at Pasadena City College, and Caltech intern working on science communication for the Lunar Trailblazer mission.