If Moon Express pulls off the Lunar Scout landing with the MX-1E before the end of the year, it will be a triumph for space exploration. But the company doesn't plan to stop there. Two more missions and three more spacecraft were also announced at the hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday.
The MX-2 spacecraft design is double the size and capability of the MX-1. It basically amounts to two MX-1s stacked on top of each other, with more fuel and more versatility when it comes to spaceflight. According to Moon Express, the MX-2 could travel not only to the moon but also to other locations in the inner solar system. The craft would be available as an orbiter as well as a lander.
The two other spacecraft are much larger. The MX-5 would use five MX-1 PECO engine pods to support a large lander platform that could take as much as 150 kg to the lunar surface from LEO. Similarly, the MX-9 would be a configuration of nine MX-1 engine pods and an even larger lander, capable of bringing a whopping 500 kg of payload to the lunar surface, although it would need a rocket to launch it to a higher orbit first, geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Both the MX-5 and MX-9 could be outfitted with MX-1 or MX-2 stages that could separate from the main spacecraft and fly on their own. Moon Express hopes to use such a configuration for a sample return mission by 2020.
After the MX-1E Lunar Scout mission—the one that is slated to launch in 2017—Moon Express plans to waste no time launching more ambitious missions. Lunar Outpost, as the company calls it, would come next—a mission to the south pole of the moon to establish a permanent station at a "peak of eternal light" where there is permanent sunshine and constant communication capabilities with Earth. The lunar poles are of significant interest to planetary scientists and space companies as they contain water ice as well as other mineral resources that could be mined to create rocket fuel.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
The third mission Moon Express hopes to launch before 2020 is called Harvest Moon. As you might be able to guess from the name, the mission would be a sample return mission that could bring "tens of kilograms" of lunar material back to Earth, Moon Express CEO Bob Richards said yesterday on Capitol Hill. Richards talks about the possibilities for prospecting on the moon that this technology could create, meaning space mining for lunar industry.
It is currently unclear which spacecraft model would be used for the Lunar Outpost and Harvest Moon missions. However, first things first—Moon Express needs to prove it can successfully land their small MX-1E spacecraft on the moon before any plans for lunar harvesting in 2020 can begin in earnest.
The company, which operates facilities at Cape Canaveral, is working to complete some of the unfinished components of the MX-1E lander. A laser altimeter is currently undergoing testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and the main platform of the lander, a carbon composite "unibody" that incorporates the structure of the craft and its propellant tanks, is still being manufactured.
And of course, there is one final thing that could thwart Moon Express's dreams of a 2017 lunar mission: the readiness of the rocket. Rocket Lab has conducted one test flight of its Electron rocket, the same rocket that is to launch the first MX-1E mission. The test was a partial success, as the first stage operated flawlessly but the second stage failed to deliver the payload to orbit due to a premature engine shutdown. Rocket Lab is reviewing the data from the launch, and hopefully the launch company will be able to work out any kinks in their next two test flights, tentatively scheduled to liftoff from Rocket Lab's private launchpad in New Zealand in the coming months.
Moon Express needs to put the final touches on its MX-1E lander, and Rocket Lab needs to fly a couple more Electrons to make sure the rocket is ready for the moon landing mission. But if the two companies can pull it off, we could have spacecraft exploring all corners of our only natural satellite before we know it.
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Moon Express Aims for Multiple Lunar Landings Sample Return Missions By 2020"
Post a Comment