LunarSat, the Lunar Academic and Research Satellite, is a micro-spacecraft that will be sent into an orbit around the Moon to perform scientific investigations concerning the lunar environment and its characteristics. However, another prime objective of the LunarSat mission is to serve as an educational and outreach project. LunarSat is designed by young engineers, scientists, and students from around Europe, with support from numerous institutions and space industry. It shall be launched as an auxiliary payload on an Ariane 5 ASAP platform and will have a mass of 100 kg in GTO. LunarSat will orbit the Moon on a highly elliptical polar orbit with its perilune above the lunar south pole area. This orbital strategy yields the possibility to obtain images of the lunar south pole region with a resolution never achieved before. Also, it will be possible to identify the `peak of eternal light' in the south pole region, should it exist. Radar measurements shall provide further evidence regarding the existence of water ice in the lunar polar craters. This paper summarizes the results of the LunarSat Phase B Study, conducted in 1998/99 and sponsored by the European Space Agency.
LunarSat, the European Lunar Microorbiter Mission: A Project Status Report
Seventh International Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Business in Space ; 2000 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Space 2000 ; 813-821
2000-02-18
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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