Improved Surface Temperature Identification Method for Remote Observations of Sample Return Capsules

A new method for the identification of the peak temperature of the heat shield based on remote spectral irradiance measurements is proposed and tested through the analysis of results from the Hayabusa sample return capsule. To identify the peak temperature of the heat shield, a parameterized empirical model for the surface temperature distribution on the geometry is developed, and it is then used to simulate spectra for optimized fitting with a measured spectral radiance. This new peak temperature identification method is shown to be insensitive to the wavelengths resolved, the view of the geometry, and measurement noise. The peak temperature of the Hayabusa capsule geometry at the representative condition considered (3330 K) was resolved to within 20 K for the three instruments investigated, while the effective temperature varied by around 600 K depending on which instrument was used. The error in the peak temperature model is also shown to be an order of magnitude less sensitive to measurement noise than the effective temperature approach. The new peak temperature method facilitates the direct comparison of results from instruments with different bandwidths and/or different view angles of the capsule, which was previously not possible.