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Astrobotic: Commercial Service for Lunar Resource Payload Delivery Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (2015) 2066.pdf ASTROBOTIC: COMMERCIAL SERVICE FOR LUNAR RESOURCE PAYLOAD DELIVERY. J. Thornton1, S. Huber2, K. Peterson3, D. Hendrickson4, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Astrobotic Technology, Inc. (2515 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222). ing resource instruments on mul- Introduction: This paper describes how Astrobot- ti-customer missions to the Moon, ic’s commercial lunar delivery service is enabling ac- resource development investiga- cess to the Moon for activities such as lunar resource tions can be launched and iterated development payloads. Topics addressed here include at multiple sites on the lunar sur- current impediments to lunar resource development, face. Small instruments can be commercial approaches to delivering resource devel- sent to numerous destinations, on opment payloads to the Moon, and traction already many small rovers. This ap- seen with the commercial market for payload delivery. proach allows resource payloads Impediments to Lunar Resource Development: Figure 1: Astro- to fly without complicated and The prospect of utilizing lunar resources for future botic’s lunar tenuous bilateral space agency space exploration is promising, and could reduce the payload delivery partnerships. Multi-user commer- cost of missions beyond Earth orbit by a factor of four. model is an end- cial missions can also provide [1] Realizing these savings however, requires first the to-end commer- important precursor feasibility determination of lunar resource availability, and the cial delivery ser- assessments of resource develop- demonstration of resource extraction, refinement, and vice ideal for ment without a major financial utilization. The prior high-cost of robotic missions to lunar resource- commitment by one or more the Moon has placed an extraordinary barrier to these focused pay- space agencies. activities getting started. The physics and economics loads. The Global Exploration behind lunar missions investigating Strategic Roadmap has rightly identified Knowledge Gaps has restricted activity on the Moon to that “to gain an understanding of large national governments that invest in some cases whether lunar volatiles could be $500 million or more per mission. The associated cost used in a cost-effective manner, it and complexity has also severely constricted the fre- is necessary to understand the quency with which missions can occur. There has nature and distribution of the been only one Moon landing since the Apollo era, de- volatiles…[and] The first step is spite the Moon’s close proximity as a planetary desti- robotic prospecting to take meas- nation. urements on the lunar surface.”[2] Bringing lunar resource development from a state Figure 2: As- Utilizing rapidly maturing com- of prospecting to full utilization will require a host of trobotic’s preci- mercial lunar delivery services is missions, and an eventual infrastructure on the lunar sion landing and the best means of carrying out this surface. As a result, the high cost and low frequency hazard avoid- first step, without an onerous of missions under the current paradigm for robotic ance system has commitment from space agencies missions to the Moon is ill suited to make lunar re- been successfully upfront. source development a reality. tested on three Astrobotic’s Approach: As- Commercial Delivery for Lunar Resource Pay- Masten flight trobotic is one such commercial loads: Alternatively, commercial lunar delivery ser- tests in the Mo- operator that provides an end-to- vice provides a viable path to the Moon for resource jave Desert. end lunar payload delivery service development payloads that is less expensive, less oner- suitable for the delivery of distributed resource devel- ous, and faster. Rather than waiting for a conventional opment-focused payloads. Astrobotic customer pay- government-only mission to the Moon that is both loads are integrated onto a single lunar lander, and then large and costly, resource development instruments launched collectively on a commercially procured such as drills, neutronspectrometers, and other volatile launch opportunity. After deployment from the launch analysis instruments could fly sooner on a multi- vehicle, the lander enters lunar orbit using its onboard customer commercial mission. lander propulsion system. The lander then makes a Commercial missions are much cheaper (for in- powered descent to the surface using its propulsion stance, an Astrobotic mission flies payloads for $1.2 system and precision landing and hazard avoidance million per kilogram), and require no wide-sweeping system. Once on the surface, payloads are deployed government mandate on lunar exploration. By includ- Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (2015) 2066.pdf and activated. After landing, the lander operates as a to fostering new commercial service to the Moon is a local utility for customer payloads, providing power telling indicator of its promise. This year the agency and communication as needed. Data from the payloads kicked off its Lunar CATALYST Program, which di- are relayed through the lander back to Earth, and then rectly pairs agency expertise and NASA center infra- transmitted to customers. structure with commercial lunar delivery companies. This end-to-end delivery service model is an ideal CATALYST is similar to the highly successful Com- means for delivering the first lunar resource prospect- mercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) pro- ing and utilization payloads at a fraction of the tradi- gram that resulted in the development of two, inde- tional cost. Astrobotic’s service approach is outfitted pendent commercial launch vehicle services that to carry a host of mission types to the Moon – from a NASA now uses for regular delivery of vital supplies single mission that carries a collection of smaller pay- to the International Space Station. loads, to missions that have one primary payload with Market Traction: The most telling indicator of the a unified set of scientific and exploration objectives. lunar delivery market’s promise is found in the sales For example, Astrobotic could carry precursor in- that have already taken place before lunar service has struments in advance of NASA’s upcoming Resource commenced. Already, seven contracts have been Prospector (RP) mission, to test instrument techniques, signed to deliver payload on Astrobotic’s first mission. demonstrate technology, and begin prospecting ahead Two signed payloads on this mission come from Ja- of the full RP mission in the future. Thereafter, Astro- pan: the private company rover from Team Hakuto, botic could carry the full RP rover and its entire suite and the marketing time capsule from the Japanese of instruments on a dedicated commercial service mis- drink company Pocari Sweat. As noted from Mexico, sion. Astrobotic could be an end-to-end payload deliv- AEM has booked a payload reservation, with a “re- ery provider for RP, in much the same way that NASA quest for proposals” to further define the payload. commercially procures cargo delivery service to the From the United Kingdom, Lunar Mission One has International Space Station. booked a data storage payload ahead of their larger Model for Resource Development Payloads: future mission. From the United States, two private Already the delivery model for carrying payloads companies are booked to send memorial cremains, and has shown great traction among dozens of individuals are sending personal mementos international space agencies. in the form of passive payload through a direct-to- For instance, Agencia Espacial consumer program called MoonMailTM. Mexicana (AEM), the Mexican Based on market traction and trends, additional Space Agency, which has not missions carrying payloads like these are planned be- yet staged a mission beyond yond the first mission. A regular cadence of commer- Earth orbit, can now build a cial lunar delivery missions opens access for resource niche national expertise, and prospecting at multiple locations on the Moon, and the field the first payload from Lat- diversity of commercial payload collections underwrit- in America. AEM has signed a ing multiple missions creates numerous opportunities payload service reservation on for small resource development payloads to fly. A Figure! 3: Agencia Astrobotic’s first mission to the manifest of multiple commercial missions could also Espacial Mexi- Moon, and issued a “request for cana, the Mexican be a cornerstone to eventual lunar resource develop- proposals” from Mexico’s sci- Space Agency will ment infrastructure in the future. ence and exploration communi- be sending its first Conclusion: Low-cost access to the Moon is now ty to determine the nature of the payload beyond open to the host of space agencies and entities that payload. The winner of this Earth orbit using have identified resource development as a priority, RFP will build the payload, and Astrobotic’s lunar both in the Global Exploration Roadmap and beyond. Astrobotic will deliver it to the payload delivery Thanks to commercial lunar delivery, the Moon is Moon. It is precisely this model service. available to all entities that seek to prospect and that could be used by other demonstrate lunar resource utilization. space agencies to carry out resource development ob- References: [1] Economic Assessment and Systems Analy- jectives outlined in the Global Exploration Roadmap. sis of an Evolvable Lunar Architecture that Developments Enabling Commercial Delivery: Leverages Commercial Space Capabilities and Public- Low cost delivery for lunar resource development pay- Private-Partnerships. NextGen Space. July 13, 2015. loads is made possible because of three recent devel- http://www.nss.org/docs/EvolvableLunarArchitecture.pdf. opments – reduced launch costs, innovations in elec- [2] The Global Exploration Roadmap. August 2013. tronics and robotics, and inventive new public-private https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/GER- 2013_Small.pdf. partnerships. Public-private partnerships are especially important to this new era of lunar activity. NASA’s commitment .
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