Overview of Recent Lunar Robotic Science and Exploration Studies at JPL
Leon Alkalai Robotic Lunar Exploration Program Office, Manager GRAIL, Proposal Manager
Briefing to ILEWG 2007 Sorrento, Italy Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 1 Recent JPL LunarOutline Mission Studies
• Recent Lunar Mission Proposals: – High resolution global topographic mapping using low-altitude lunar orbiter, Moonlight pre- phase A study, 2004); – High resolution global lunar gravity mapping, GRAIL phase A study 2006-07. – Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return, Moonrise phase A study, 2005. – Robotic Lunar Exploration Program Lander. – Lunar Impactor secondary payload for LRO.
• On-going Robotic Lunar Science & Exploration Studies: – Lunette: network of small landers for outpost site survey and network science – Surface mobility studies: human habitat, lunar lander, rovers, etc. – Surface systems, sample handling. – Lunar Impactors and Probes. – Network of large geographically distributed seismic network mission. – Long range nuclear powered rovers and landers. – Lunar Sample Return from the South Pole Aitken Basin. – Missions of Opportunity a la M3. – International collaborations in lunar robotic science and exploration missions and payloads. Over the past 4 years JPL has conducted multiple, end-to-end science and exploration mission pre-phase A and phase A studies, and many other studies of direct relevance to SMD and VSE. ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 2 Moonlight, Discovery-11 Proposal High Resolution Topographic Mapping
Maria Zuber (MIT), PI and David E. Smith (GSFC) DPI
• High Resolution Topographic mapping
• Active (LIDAR) and passive (imaging)
• Global Mapping
• Precision S/C position determination
• Very low altitude circular polar orbit
• Synergy with lunar exploration needs.
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 3 GRAIL: Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory Discovery-12 Phase A Study
Maria Zuber (MIT), PI and David E. Smith (GSFC), DPI
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 4 Fundamental GRAIL Measurement Approach
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 5 GRAIL: advancing state of the art Nearside Farside Today’s lunar gravity field models are limited by inability to see farside. Farside gravity errors are 10 to 100 times larger than those for nearside. Range: 1 to 100 milliGals
GRAIL’s gravity field will be ~1000 times more accurate than present models and equally accurate for near- and farside. Range: 1 to 100 microGals
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 6 GRAIL performance
Surface accelerations sqrt (power)
improvement
includes margin
z GRAIL performance: – Significantly exceeds requirements – Nearly 4 orders of magnitude better than LP – Nearly 3 orders of magnitude better than LRO – Over 2 orders of magnitude better than Selene No other lunar mission will come close to providing a good enough gravity field to achieve GRAIL’s science objectives.
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 7 Moonrise: Robotic Lunar Sample Return from the South Pole-Aitken Basin Mike Duke (CSM), PI and Brad Jolliff (WU), DPI
• Return samples from the SPAB using 2 landers • Robust end-to-end mission architecture • Heritage robotic arm and surface sampling • Safe Landing and hazard avoidance • Sample return site certification • Strong synergy with exploration needs.
Clementine Topography of Lunar Far Side
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 8 Moonrise: Robotic Arm and Surface Sampling System Lunar Lander System
• Lander has a robotic arm with mechanical end-effector for sample caching, sieving and digging • Flight Software heritage from MER
Sampling and Transfer Robotic Arm
Sampling
Transfer Caching Sieving Digging
JPL has developed and demonstrated a mature robotic surface sample handling system with high flight heritage hardware and software. ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 9 Lunette: Network of Small Lunar Landers Study
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 10 Lunette: Baseline Mission Overview
3. Carrier stage performs braking burn 2. Multiple landers 1. Launch on with carrier stage EELV cruise to moon
4. Landers separate at termination of burn (~4 km alt.), perform final descent and landing
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 11 Summary
• JPL’s Lunar Robotic (Science) and Exploration Office continues to develop new mission concepts in response to opportunities at NASA as well as opportunities for international collaboration. • Mission studies include: – Science driven orbiters, (network of) landers, probes, rovers; – Exploration driven landers, mobility platforms, surface systems. • JPL has developed the Lunette mission concept: a network of small Lunar landers for science and exploration, which is also an opportunity for international collaboration.
ILEWG Sorrento, 2007 L. Alkalai - 12