TEMPEST: A Modular Thermophysical Model for Airless Bodies with Support for Surface Roughness and Non-Periodic Heating

Understanding surface temperatures on airless planetary bodies is crucial for interpreting thermal observations and constraining surface properties. We present TEMPEST (Thermal Evolution Model for Planetary Environment Surface Temperatures), a modular, open-source Python model that simulates diurnal and non-periodic thermal evolution on irregular bodies. Unlike traditional 1D periodic solvers, TEMPEST handles transient heating events such as eclipses, non-synchronous rotations such as tumbling asteroids, and seasonal variations. Key capabilities include surface roughness modelling via hemispherical craters, multiple thermal conduction schemes, and modular scattering using lookup tables (LUTs). TEMPEST has been used to analyse data from the Lucy mission and has been validated against the well-established Spencer 1D thermal model, thermprojrs.