Concepts and Instruments of UK MoonLITE & Moonraker Missions
- Paper number
IAC-07-A3.6.B.01
- Author
Dr. Yang Gao, University of Surrey, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
- Coauthor
Lionel Wilson, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Alan Smith, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Dave Parker, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Mr. Andy Phipps, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Mr. Mark Taylor, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Ian Crawford, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Prof. Martin Sweeting, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Mr. Alex da Silva Curiel, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Mr. Phil Davies, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Dr. Andrew J. Ball, United Kingdom
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Since the last Apollo landing 35 years ago, our knowledge of the Solar System has expanded immeasurably, bringing us up against questions that are impossible to be answered on Earth. There is now a global renewed interest in returning to the Moon, driven both by the demands of science and as a stepping-stone for human exploration of the Solar System. In terms of science, the Moon provides a unique record of processes affecting evolution of terrestrial planets during the first Giga-year or so of Solar System history. This includes internal processes of geological evolution (e.g. differentiation and crust formation) and external processes caused by the environment (e.g. meteoroid and asteroid flux, interplanetary dust density, solar wind flux and composition, galactic cosmic ray flux) that are not as easily examined anywhere else in our solar system. So far, all the in situ measurements of the lunar surface have been obtained by soft landings on the near side of the Moon, mainly from Apollo, Luna and Surveyor missions. Actual samples have been returned from only 9 locations from mid to low latitudes on the near side, including the 6 Apollo and 3 Luna landing sites. There is little doubt that returning to the Moon could, with sustained effort, vastly enhance our knowledge of the Solar System and of our own planet. The UK already plays a significant role in lunar science research by participating in the Clementine, SMART-1, Chandrayaan-1 and LRO missions, as well as through geological studies using remote sensing and lunar meteorite data as inputs to theoretical modelling. These place the UK in a position to play a major role in the next steps of lunar exploration. Surrey Space Centre (SSC) alongside its spin-off partner Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) have been preparing a 'smallsat' approach to achieving a low-cost lunar mission and address the scientific questions for more than a decade – including various activities, such as the earlier ESA study on LunarSat and currently hardware contribution to the Chandrayaan-1 mission. With the recent successes in GIOVE-A, TOPSAT \& BEIJING-1, alongside participation in Aurora \& Chandrayaan-1, Surrey have developed capabilities for providing affordable engineering solutions to space exploration. Recently, SSTL/SSC have completed a PPARC funded study to investigate UK-led lunar mission options. The study assessed the scientific and technological requirements of three baseline mission options, namely orbiter, lander and sample-return. Two resulting concepts MoonLITE and Moonraker have made a case for low-cost science missions by deploying multiple surface penetrators or a small soft lander. This paper will present the preliminary mission definitions and the associated science instruments.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-07-A3.6.B.01.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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