Lunette: A Low-Cost Concept Enabling Multi-Lander Lunar Science and Exploration Missions
- Paper number
IAC-08.B4.8.4
- Author
Mr. John Elliott, Jet Propulsion Laboratory / CalTech, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Leon Alkalai, NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, United States
- Year
2008
- Abstract
The development of low cost missions for lunar exploration has emerged as a topic of increasing interest. Recently a study team from JPL was tasked to consider potential high-value lunar surface science and exploration missions that could be performed with small, low cost landed assets, with particular emphasis on missions that could be flown as secondary payloads on EELV launches. A mission concept and flight system design was developed in the course of this study that would deliver a network of up to six individual landers to a local lunar region, utilizing the full capabilities of the EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA). The braking burn of the six landers would be performed by a single solid rocket motor integral with the ESPA ring, following which the landers would separate from the ESPA and perform final descent and precision landing using their own onboard propulsion systems. The six landers would initiate a one year mission, performing site survey and environmental science measurements including illumination, temperature, radiation, soil mechanics, and seismometry. Additional payload accommodation would be available on each lander to include unique experiments. The lander design was constrained to fit within the requirements for accommodation on the ESPA. These include a wet mass of no more than 180 kg, and dimensions that fit in an envelope of 61 x 71 x 96 cm. The total landed mass of the spacecraft is ~140 kg which delivers a total of ~15kg of payload mass to the lunar surface, per lander. In addition to the multi-lander ESPA-based design, a single lander flight system variant was developed that could enable globally distributed network science at very low cost. This paper discusses the mission concepts, flight system designs and numerous system engineering challenges that led to the development of this uniquely flexible and cost effective lunar mission concept.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.B4.8.4.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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