LULAD (LUnar LAva tube Discoverer) Instrument for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Program

Abstract

NASA’s latest lunar exploration program is Artemis. In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) will become more important as human space travel moves toward a lunar presence. CLPS helps the Artemis Program develop and use compact autonomous landers and rovers. A series of lunar micro-rovers will be launched in the coming years to collect data and conduct scientific research on the moon. Subterranean lava tubes on celestial bodies are promising habitats for human expansion beyond Earth. Due to its lack of atmosphere, the moon is vulnerable to meteoroid impacts and cosmic and solar particle radiation. These factors make surface lunar base construction difficult. Subterranean lava tubes can provide safety due to the many strata of lava basalt that form a thick roof several meters thick. This paper will discuss the design of the LUnar LAva tube Discoverer (LULAD) instrument, which aims to explore regions of interest and possibly find candidate lava tubes on the moon.