System design of LUMIO: A CubeSat at Earth-Moon L2 for observing lunar meteoroid impacts

Paper number

IAC-18,B4,8,5,x47345

Author

Mr. Prem Sundaramoorthy, The Netherlands, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Coauthor

Dr. Francesco Topputo, Italy, Politecnico di Milano

Coauthor

Dr. Mauro Massari, Italy, Politecnico di Milano

Coauthor

Dr. James Douglas Biggs, Italy, Politecnico di Milano

Coauthor

Dr. Pierluigi Di Lizia, Italy, Politecnico di Milano

Coauthor

Dr. Diogene Alessandro Dei Tos, Italy, Politecnico di Milano

Coauthor

Mr. Karthik Venkatesh Mani, Italy, Politecnico di Milano

Coauthor

Mr. Simone Ceccherini, Italy, Politecnico di Milano

Coauthor

Mr. Vittorio Franzese, Italy, Politecnico di Milano

Coauthor

Dr. Angelo Cervone, The Netherlands, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Coauthor

Dr. Stefano Speretta, The Netherlands, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Coauthor

Ms. Samiksha Mestry, The Netherlands, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Coauthor

Mr. Mathijs Van de Poel, Belgium, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Coauthor

Mr. Sean Pepper, The Netherlands, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Coauthor

Mr. Ron Noomen, The Netherlands, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Coauthor

Dr. Anton Ivanov, Russian Federation, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology

Coauthor

Mr. Demetrio Labate, Italy, Leonardo Spa

Coauthor

Mr. Arnoud Jochemsen, Norway, Science [&] Technology AS

Coauthor

Prof. Roberto Furfaro, United States, University of Arizona

Coauthor

Dr. Vishnu Reddy, United States, University of Arizona

Coauthor

Mr. Kevin Jacquinot, United States, University of Arizona

Coauthor

Dr. Roger Walker, The Netherlands, European Space Agency (ESA)

Coauthor

Mr. Johan Vennekens, The Netherlands, ESA - European Space Agency

Coauthor

Ms. Ana Cipriano, The Netherlands, European Space Agency (ESA)

Year

2018

Abstract

The Earth-Moon system is constantly being bombarded by a significant number of meteoroids with different sizes and velocities. Observation of the lunar surface impacts will enable characterization of the lunar meteoroid flux, which is similar to that of the Earth, and provide more detailed information on meteoroid size, velocity,  temporal and spatial distribution. The Lunar Meteoroid Impact Observer (LUMIO) is a CubeSat mission at Earth-Moon L2 to observe, quantify, and characterise these meteoroid impacts by detecting their flashes on the lunar farside. LUMIO is one of the two winners of ESA’s LUCE (Lunar CubeSat for Exploration) SysNova competition, and as such is being considered by ESA for implementation in the near future. This paper will present the design of the LUMIO spacecraft that will host the payload to capture the meteoroid flashes on the lunar surface. Key system challenges, trade-offs and consequent design iterations are discussed. The final design yields a feasible spacecraft budget and configuration that enables the LUMIO mission to be realized by 2023. 

The spacecraft is a 12U form-factor CubeSat, with a mass of less than 22 kg. A zero-redundancy and COTS based approach has been adopted for the spacecraft design. A strong emphasis has been placed on realizing high onboard autonomy. A novel and autonomous navigation strategy that uses optical observations of the Earth and the Moon is proposed for navigation around the moon and beyond. The payload and navigation are the key drivers of the pointing requirements. Pointing requirements is achieved through reaction wheels, IMUs, star trackers, and fine sun sensors. A hybrid micro-propulsion system is included for orbital control, de-tumbling, and reaction wheel desaturation. Steady solar power availability is ensured with a one-axis solar array drive assembly in combination with an innovative attitude algorithm. Communication with Earth is through the Lunar Orbiter with a low bandwidth UHF link, which places high constraints on the data throughput. An onboard payload data processor has been designed that compresses the science data to a fraction of the raw data with no loss in information. 

The paper will conclude with the key findings of a concurrent design review of the LUMIO spacecraft design that was performed at ESA/ESTEC concurrent design facility. The main discrepancies and incremental design changes are outlined along with feasibility and risk of the iterated design.

Abstract document

IAC-18,B4,8,5,x47345.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-18,B4,8,5,x47345.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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