Characterisation of potential landing sites for the European Space Agency's Lunar Lander project

Abstract

This article describes the characterization activities of the landing sites currently envisaged for the Lunar Lander mission of the European Space Agency. These sites have been identified in the South Pole Region (-85° to -90° latitude) based on favourable illumination conditions, which make it possible to have a long-duration mission with conventional power and thermal control subsystems, capable of enduring relatively short periods of darkness (in the order of tens of hours), instead of utilising Radioisotope Heating Units. The illumination conditions are simulated at the potential landing sites based on topographic data from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA), using three independent tools. Risk assessment of the identified sites is also being performed through independent studies. Long baseline slopes are assessed based on LOLA, while craters and boulders are detected both visually and using computer tools in Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) images, down to a size of less than 2 m, and size-frequency distributions are generated. Shadow hazards are also assessed via LROC images. The preliminary results show that areas with quasi-continuous illumination of several months exist, but their size is small (few hundred metres); the duration of the illumination period drops quickly to less than one month outside the areas, and some areas present gaps with short illumination periods. Concerning hazard distributions, 50 m slopes are found to be shallow (few degrees) based on LOLA, whereas at the scale of the lander footprint (~5 m) they are mostly dominated by craters, expected to be mature (from geological context) and shallow (~11°). The preliminary conclusion is that the environment at the prospective landing sites is within the capabilities of the Lander design.

KOREAN LUNAR LANDER – CONCEPT STUDY FOR LANDING-SITE SELECTION FOR LUNAR RESOURCE EXPLORATION

“…This will further narrow down the selection of potential landings sites. A validation of such potential hazards for lander units will be conducted visually as well as semi-automatically (De Rosa et al, 2012). In this context, we are currently exploring the application of fuzzy c-means clustering algorithms (e.g.…”

Special Software for Planetary Image Processing and Research

“…To support planning of future missions based on engineering safety criteria (De Rosa et al, 2012) and to provide charging solar panels or communication with Earth, simulation for the investigated terrain for selected site within crater Boguslawsky (72.9°S, 41.3°E) was made using LOLA DEM (LDEM 1024) with resolution 30 m/pixel (http://ode.rsl.wustl.edu/moon/productPageAtlas.aspx?product_id =LDEM_1024_75S_60S_030_060&product_idGeo=20762484). The developed software allowed us to model the positions of the Sun and the Earth above the horizon seen from a specified point in the time period chosen for start of future mission LunaGlob on November, 2018.…”

Modern Methodology and New Tools for Planetary Mapping

“…in the prospective polar areas. We used the comprehensive approach based on the evaluation of a set of various parameters of the relief in accordance with the proposed criteria for future Russian (Slyuta et al 2010) or European missions (De Rosa et al 2012). …”