ShortSCOPE: An Optical Short-Period Seismic Sensor for Planetary Exploration

Seismology offers a window into the formation, structure, and dynamical processes of solar system bodies. Seismic data from Earth, the near side of the Moon, and Elysium Planitia on Mars have transformed our understanding of planetary interiors. Expanding these insights to new targets—such as ocean worlds and asteroids—requires seismometers with enhanced sensitivity, low power consumption, and robustness in extreme environments. We present the performance and environmental qualification of the Short-Period Seismic Characterization using Optics for Planetary Exploration (“ShortSCOPE”) sensor, a novel force-balanced device tailored for future missions. Originally developed under the Europa Lander mission concept, the ShortSCOPE sensor has since been adapted for lunar deployment, achieving Technology Readiness Level 6. The ShortSCOPE sensor operates at low noise (targeting 1 × 10- 9 m/s²/√Hz at 10 Hz) with a flat response across a wide frequency band (0.0095 to 150 Hz), and survives shock (up to 500 g ), random vibration (14.1 g RMS), and thermal vacuum cycling from −55 °C to +70 °C, surviving at housing temperatures as low as −170 °C. It is compact (3.2 cm × 4 cm), lightweight (115 grams per sensor), and consumes little power (40 mW per sensor). The design offers exceptional tilt tolerance (at least ± 30° in Europan or lunar gravity), allowing deployment without leveling mechanisms. ShortSCOPE sensors will be integrated into the candidate Artemis–deployed Lunar Environment Monitoring Station, providing the first long-duration seismic observations from the lunar south pole, and new constraints on seismic activity from the Moon at frequencies >20 Hz.