1. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 MoonLite a UK led penetrator mission to the Moon Professor Alan Smith On behalf of the UK Penetrator Consortium Kaguya

2. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 What Characterizes Penetrators ?  Low mass instrumented packages (c.f. Lunar A 13.5Kg; DS-2 3.6Kg)  High impact speed ~ 300 m.s -1  Very rugged ~10kgee  Few metres surface penetration  Highly autonomous scientific payloads

3. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 SINGLE-PIECE PENETRATOR ALUMINIUM NOSE SECTION TUNGSTEN TIP DETACHABLE De-orbit and attitude control STAGE ALUMINIUM CASING Payload IMPACT ACCELEROMETER Tiltmeter SEISMOMETERS / TILTMETER THERMAL SENSING (TEMP, CONDUCTIVITY,HEAT FLOW) GEOCHEMISTRY (E.G. WATER/VOLATILES DETECTOR) GROUND CAMERA (MINALOGY/ASTROBIOLOGY) OTHER (permitivity, magnetometer, radiation monitor) DESCENT CAMERA ESTIMATED PENETRATOR SIZE LENGTH:- 480mm to 600mm (8:1 to 10:1 RATIO) DIAMETER:- 60mm ESTIMATED MASS 13kg POINT OF SEPARATION Penetrator Descent Module Design Concept Platform S/C SUPPORT AOCS STRUCTURE POWER/THERMAL COMMS CONTROL & DATA HANDLING

4. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 PROS and CONS ? PROS Cost effective especially for multiple sites. Able to target areas which are not accessible to soft landers. Provide ground truth for interpreting remote sensing data. Provide direct access below the planetary surface CONS Can achieve key science, but low payload mass and high-gee constraints will limit capability c.f. soft landers. Limited Communications due to finite battery life. Surviving for long periods for e.g. seismic network will be a challenge with limited mass. (Insulation and RHU’s with primary batteries) Have an associated impact risk …good for pre-cursor investigations, seismic networks, and cost effective targetting of specific terrain features. …good also as a step to exploration.

5. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Mars96 (Russia) failed to leave Earth orbit DS2 (Mars) NASA 1999 ? Planetary Penetrators - Planetary Penetrators - History Many paper studies and ground trials    No survivable high velocity impacting probe has been successfully operated on any extraterrestrial body TRL 5 Japanese Lunar-A cancelled (maybe now to fly on Russian Lunar Glob ?)

6. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Suitable Bodies for Investigation ? Moon (MoonLITE- UK Intiative) - is closeby – ideal technical demonstrator + excellent science (polar water, deep structure, differentiation, …) - Airless -> like Europa, Enceladus - Very cold (polar traps) -> like Europa, Enceladus,Titan Europa,Titan/Enceladus (Cosmic Vision) - Astrobiology, interior ocean(s). - Europa – very high radiation environment - Titan has an atmosphere – different approach !!! NEO/Asteroids - Accelerometer particularly interesting for investigating internal structure Etc, etc, (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Triton, …)

7. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 UK Penetrator Consortium - UK Penetrator Consortium - History  Jan 2006 – First meeting of consortium, now expanded to 8 UK institutes and 3 industries  Dec 2006 - UK Research Council commissioned report of low cost lunar missions, MoonLITE (penetrator) and MoonRaker (lander), MoonLITE given top priority.  Apr 2007 – First funding in place for penetrator trials  June 2007 – ESA Cosmic Vision proposals –LunarEx (not selected) –Jupiter-Europa (penetrator option) (passed first gate) –Saturn-Enceladus (penetrator element) (passed first gate)  July 2007 – MoonLITE considered as part of a NASA- BNSC bilateral programme  Jan 2008 – Phase A study of MoonLITE to be kicked-off

8. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Terminology  Descent Module, consisting of: –Penetrator –De-orbit (delta v ~ 1.7 km.s -1 ) and attitude control system –Descent Camera  The Descent Module is a spacecraft in its own right, albeit rather short lived.

9. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Feasibility  Military have been successfully firing instrumented projectiles for many years to at least comparable levels of gee forces expected. Target materials have been mostly concrete and steel but include sand and ice. –40,000gee qualified electronics exist (re-used !) –When asked to describe the condition of a probe that had impacted 2m of concrete at 300 m.s -1 a UK expert described the device as ‘a bit scratched’!

10. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Examples of hi-gee electronic systems Designed and tested : –Communication systems  36 GHz antenna, receiver and electronic fuze tested to 45 kgee –Dataloggers  8 channel, 1 MHz sampling rate tested to 60 kgee –MEMS devices (accelerometers, gyros)  Tested to 50 kgee –MMIC devices  Tested to 20 kgee –TRL 6 MMIC chip tested to 20 kgee Communication system and electronic fuze tested to 45 kgee

11. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 MoonLITE - Mission Description  Delivery and Communications Spacecraft (Orbiter). Deliver penetrators to ejection orbit, provide pre-ejection health status, and relay communications.  Orbiter Payload: 4 Descent Probes (each containing ~13 kg penetrator + ~23 kg de-orbit and attitude control).  Landing sites: Globally spaced Far side, Polar region(s), One near an Apollo landing site for calibration.  Duration: >1 year for seismic network. Other science does not require so long (perhaps a few Lunar cycles for heat flow and volatiles much less).  Penetrator Design: Single Body for simplicity and risk avoidance. Battery powered with comprehensive power saving techniques.

12. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 MoonLITE – Science The Origin and Evolution of Planetary Bodies The Origin and Evolution of Planetary Bodies NASA Lunar Prospector Water and its profound implications for life and exploration Water and its profound implications for life and exploration

13. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Science – Polar Volatiles A suite of instruments will detect and characterise volatiles (including water) within shaded craters at both poles  Astrobiologically important –possibly remnant of the original seeding of planets by comets –may provide evidence of important cosmic-ray mediated organic synthesis  Vital to the future manned exploration of the Moon the Moon

14. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Science - Seismology A global network of seismometers will tell us: –Size and physical state of the Lunar Core –Structure of the Lunar Mantle –Thickness of the far side crust –The origin of the enigmatic shallow moon- quakes –The seismic environment at potential manned landing sites

15. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Science - Geochemistry X-ray spectroscopy at multiple, diverse sites will address: –Lunar Geophysical diversity –Ground truth for remote sensing XRS on Beagle-2 Leicester University K, Ca, Ti, Fe, Rb, Sr, Zr

16. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Science – Heat Flow Heat flow measurements will be made at diverse sites, telling us: –Information about the composition and thermal evolution of planetary interiors –Whether the Th concentration in the PKT is a surface or mantle phenomina NASA Lunar Prospector

17. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 –Seismology –Water and volatile detection –Accelerometer –Heat Flow –Geochemistry/XRF –Descent camera –Mineralogy –Radiation Monitor Payload Ion trap spectrometer (200g, 10-100amu) (Open University)

18. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 A systems approach  Modular  Impact modelling validated with trials  Parallel development of payload elements and penetrator structure  Close liaison with Descent Module prime Cf. Skylark

19. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Key Technologies  Payload instruments - ruggedization  Batteries – Availability (Lunar-A, multiple US options)  Communications – Based on Beagle-2, a trailing antenna would require development  Structure material (Aluminium, carbon composite under consideration – needed for heatflow where trailing antenna is not available)  Sample acquisition  Thermal control (RHUs probably needed for polar penetrators)  AOCS (attitude control and de-orbit motor)  Spacecraft attachment and ejection mechanism

20. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Technology Issues  Power / thermal  Comms and data handling  Instrument ruggedization  Heat Flow measurement and structure material

21. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Penetrator Development Programme Phase 1: Modelling (until Jan 2008) –Key trade studies (Power, Descent, Structure material, Data flow, Thermal) –Interface & System definition –Penetrator structure modelling –Procurement strategy Phase 2: Trials (until Jan 2010) –Payload element robustness proofing –Penetrator structure trials (March 2008) –Payload selection and definition –Baseline accommodation Phase 3: EM (until Jan 2012) –Design and Qualification Phase 4: FM (until Dec 2012) –Flight build and non-destructive testing Generic Mission Specific A BNSC – NASA Phase-A study will begin in January 2008 and last 6-9 months

22. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 For more information visit: http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/planetary/missions/Micro_Penetrators.php or http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk and follow the links http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk Or contact Alan Smith on: Alan.Smith@mssl.ucl.ac.uk

23. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 Penetrator Descent Modules Penetrator delivery system Descent camera De-orbit Motor S/C attachment & ejection Penetrator Attitude Control System Penetrator attachment & ejection Ground Support Equipment MoonLITE Orbiter Oribiter sub-systems

24. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 StructureScience Instrumentation Communication link Data Management & Control Seismometer Heat flow instrument Power system Geochemistry package Water/volatile package Regulation Battery Unit Packaging & Internal Support Penetrator body Transmitter Receiver Penetrator Thermal Accelerometers & Tilt Sample Acquisition Insulation Sensors RHU’s (?) Data Handling Commanding Software Antenna Other

25. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 MoonLITE Mass (at impact)13kg Impact decelerationUp to 10,000 g. Impact angle (between impact velocity vector and tangent to surface) ~90  (not critical) Attack angle (between penetrator long axis and impact velocity vector) ~<8  (critical) Penetration depth into regolith2 to 5m. Ambient penetrator operating temperature:-20°C to -50°C. (50K to 100K in shaded polar craters) Mean penetrator power (subsystems & payload) 60mW. Mission duration1.2 years (1 year on surface)

26. Royal Astronomical Society, January 11, 2008 MoonLITE nominal Payload Payload instrument Sub-instrument Mass (g)Integrated power usage over 1 year mission (W.hr) Telemetry Allocation (over 1 year) (Mbits Accelerometer and Tilt-meter660.0020.1 Geochemistry package26012.00.1 Water/Volatile Experiment7504.12.0 Seismometer300501.06.0 Heat Flow3001.00.6 Total Penetrator1676516.18.8 Descent Camera1600.052.0