The National Vision for Space Exploration calls for an American return to the Moon in preparation for the human exploration of Mars and other destinations. The surface environment of the Moon is a challenge for human operations, but recent findings from robotic and Earth-based studies have indicated that the polar regions of the Moon may offer advantages in terms of thermal conditions, availability of solar energy, and access to local resources. While accessing these regions represents a challenge due to orbital dynamics and propulsive performance, methods for accessing the regions with humans are being actively pursued, and environmental data gathering is planned through future robotic missions.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Accessing the Lunar Poles for Human Exploration Missions


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    Tenth Annual Frontiers of Engineering Symposium ; 2004 ; Irvine, CA, United States


    Publication date :

    2004-01-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English





    Lunar Exploration Missions Since 2006

    Lawrence, S. J. / Gaddis, L. R. / Joy, K. H. et al. | NTRS | 2017


    Lunar and planetary landers for human exploration missions

    WOODCOCK, GORDON / CUPPLES, MICHAEL / DONAHUE, BEN et al. | AIAA | 1992


    Lunar and planetary landers for human exploration missions

    Woodcock, Gordon / Cupples, Michael / Donahue, Ben et al. | NTRS | 1992


    Optical Navigation for Lunar Exploration Missions

    Landgraf, Markus / Thiele, G. / Koschny, D. et al. | AIAA | 2006