Measurements of spectral emissivity related to planetary missions Original Research Article

The aim of this work is to present some preliminary results of a research program, carried out in our laboratory, in order to develop a reliable method for determining the spectral emissivity of a particulate sample. The mid-infrared region of the spectrum is very important in planetary studies since in this region, usually dominated by thermal emission, are present the spectral features of many materials of great interest for the knowledge of most objects belonging to our solar system. Therefore, laboratory measurements of spectral emissivity are required in order to simulate the observed spectra, mainly those originated by present and future space missions. In this paper we present preliminary results and describe the experimental procedure used to obtain the spectral emissivity, based on the measurements of the sample and two reference black bodies kept at different temperatures.