Lunar precursor missions

In this paper, the consistent mission scenario of lunar precursor missions before human exploration is formulated and the spacecraft concepts in this mission scenario such as Lunar polar orbiter, Lunar surface rover and the sample return system are designed and also requirements for launch vehicles are shown. The first precursor mission: lunar polar orbiter executes remote sensing missions for I year to acquire geological and resource mapping data and has a landing probe to demonstrate the soft landing technology for the following rover mission. The mass of the orbiter with a landing probe is estimated to be 2 tons in the lunar orbit and the orbiter can be launched by a single H-II rocket. The second mission: lunar surface rover can traverse across the lunar surface for 2 years to make a ground truth for the remote sensing data and soil processing experiment to evaluate the usefulness of lunar resources. The mass of the rover and the lander is estimated to be 500 and 1500 kg, respectively, in the lunar orbit including the propellant for the descent maneuver and they can be launched by a single H-II rocket. The third mission: the lunar sample return system can land on the site where the former orbiter and the rover show interesting results to collect various samples and return them to Earth for detailed analysis. The mass of the sample return system is estimated to be 8 tons in the lunar transfer orbit and it should be launched by derived H-II rocket. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd