Ground software architecture for a lunar particle detector: Implementation with a double-sided silicon strip detector

Abstract

The Moon-Aiming Thai-Chinese Hodoscope (MATCH) is a particle detector developed for the Chang’E-7 mission, designed to support space weather monitoring and cosmic radiation studies within the Sun-Earth-Moon system. The primary observational objectives of MATCH include space weather science and alerts, as well as the detection of cosmic radiation, particularly Jovian and Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) electrons. Additionally, MATCH can detect lunar albedo ions (alpha particles and protons) and contribute to understanding cosmic-ray interactions with the lunar surface, including high-energy particle backscattering mechanisms. These studies are essential for improving our knowledge of cosmic ray propagation and energy distribution in the lunar environment. MATCH integrates a double-sided silicon strip detector (DSSD) for precise position tracking of incoming particles, along with a bismuth germanate (BGO) scintillator stack for accurate energy measurements. This study presents the development and validation of a scalable ground software architecture that supports event detection, signal processing, and data calibration, optimized for constrained onboard resources. The system has been validated through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing using alpha-emitting sources under mission-equivalent conditions, demonstrating high accuracy and resource efficiency for on-orbit data acquisition modes. Once deployed, MATCH is expected to provide the first continuous MeV-range cosmic electron measurements from lunar orbit, enabling new insights into Jovian and Galactic cosmic ray propagation, space weather variability, and lunar albedo ion generation. The software architecture developed here plays a critical role in enabling astrophysical investigations during the upcoming Chang’E-7 mission.