Planetary Reflectance Lab
The Planetary Reflectance Lab is a VNIR spectroscopy facility overseen by Dr. Melissa Rice and located in the Geology Department at Western Washington University. Kristiana Lapo manages the lab, operates the instruments, and trains students and other researchers to use the equipment and analyze spectral datasets.
This facility supports planetary remote sensing research using analog materials and returned planetary samples through spectroscopic and photometric measurements from natural surfaces and rock powders, and a centralized database of reflectance spectra from labs across the world. Our lab is in ES061.
Visible to Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
An ASD FieldSpec4 Hi-Res Spectrometer is the core of our lab facility and can be integrated with a standard probe (~2.5 cm spot size; i=12, e=35), small diameter probe (2 mm spot size; i=0 e=0), and TANAGER.
Goniometry/Photometry
We collect photometric datasets with a custom-built instrument: the Three-Axis N-sample Automated Goniometer for Evaluating Reflectance (TANAGER). TANAGER is an automated goniometer designed for rapid collection of hemispheric spectroscopy datasets. TANAGER can accommodate whole-rock samples (up to 10 cm in diameter), as well as billets and powders. Geometric capabilities: i = -70 to +70, e = -70 to +70, and az = 0 to 170 (1 degree angular accuracy).
Learn more about TANAGER and its capabilities in the peer-reviewed instrument paper: Rice, M., Lapo, K., Hoza, K., Cloutis, E., Kraft, M., Mulcahy, S., et al. (2024). TANAGER: Design and validation of an automated spectrogoniometer for bidirectional reflectance studies of natural rock surfaces. Earth and Space Science, 11, e2024EA003686.
VISOR
The Planetary Reflectance Lab maintains VISOR, an online database tool for searching, graphing, and downloading spectral data. VISOR hosts the spectra collected in the Planetary Reflectance Lab as well as data from RELAB, ASTER/ECOSTRESS, University of Winnipeg, and the USGS. The site was built by our collaborators at Million Concepts.