23 research outputs found
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Accessing and assessing lunar resources with PROSPECT
PROSPECT is a package in development by ESA to assess the in-situ resource potential of lunar regolith. PROSPECT will: obtain sub-surface regolith samples, extract volatiles, identify chemical species, quantify abundances, and characterize isotopes
Scientific Preparations for Lunar Exploration with the European Lunar Lander
This paper discusses the scientific objectives for the ESA Lunar Lander
Mission, which emphasise human exploration preparatory science and introduces
the model scientific payload considered as part of the on-going mission
studies, in advance of a formal instrument selection.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Planetary and Space Science 51 pages, 8
figures, 1 tabl
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Prospect: Key Aspects of Drilling and Collecting Samples at Moon Southpole for Luna Resurs Mission
ESA is working together with ROSCOSMOS to establish a cooperative program of lunar exploration. Part of the European contribution for the Luna-27 mission, a major element of such collaboration, planned to fly in 2020, is the PROSPECT drilling and sample analysis package. PROSPECT (Package for Resource Observation, inSitu analysis and Prospecting for Exploration Commercial exploitation and Transportation) is built upon important experience gained by European industries and institutes in particular on drilling, sample handling and sample analysis. PROSPECT is made up of two main elements: the ProSEED (PROSPECT Sample Excavation and Extraction Drill) and the ProSPA (PROSPECT Processing and Analysis) sample analysis instrument. ProSEED is the next step in FinmeccanicaтАЩs development of planetary drilling and sampling robots and it is specifically designed to cope with lunar icy soil specimens. ProSEED baseline design is being developed at the time this abstract has been written. It is being defined based on experience and data collected by Finmeccanica during phase A of the Lunar Drill Development project, funded by ESA. Objectives of this phase of the project were: (1) the development of a 2m drill breaboard equipped with rotation and hammering actuator in the mandrel; (2) the development of a sampling tool mechanism compatible with the Lunar Drill Breadboard and its rotohammering functionalities; (3) the characterization of lunar highland soil simulant (NU-LHT-2M) uniaxial compressive strength, with different amounts of water ice (up to saturation) at low temperature conditions; (4) testing of the integrated LDD breadboard on the lunar simulant conditioned at very low temperatures (up to -170┬░C) and ambient pressure; (5) testing and comparison of different sampling tool concepts including micro-corers and tools deriving from FinmeccanicaтАЩs heritage in interplanetary drilling; (6) the development of a Thermal Exchange Model (in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano) with the aim of predicting the drilling impact on soil characteristics (temperature increase) in order to define a proper mission operation profile. The proposed paper will present and discuss some important results achieved in the above mentioned activities and how those results will support the selection and definition of the PROSPECT technical baseline
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ProSPA: the Science Laboratory for the Processing and Analysis of Lunar Polar Volatiles within PROSPECT
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ProSPA: The Chemical Laboratory for In-Situ Assessment of Lunar Volatile Resources within EsaтАЩs Prospect Package
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PROSPECT: A comprehensive sample acquisition and analysis package for lunar science and exploration
PROSPECT is a comprehensive payload package developed by the European Space Agency which will support the extraction and analysis of lunar surface and subsurface samples as well as the acquisition of data from additional environmental sensors. The key elements of PROSPECT are the ProSEED drill and the ProSPA analytical laboratory. ProSEED will support the acquisition of cryogenic samples from depths up to 1 m and deliver them to the ProSPA instrument. ProSPA will receive and seal samples in miniaturized ovens, heat them, physically and chemically process the released volatiles, and analyze the obtained constituents via mass spectrometry using two types of spectrometers. Contextual information will be provided by cameras which will generate multi-spectral images of the drill working area and of acquired samples, and via temperature sensors and a permittivity sensor that are integrated in the drill rod. The package is designed for minimizing volatile loss from the sample between acquisition and analysis. Initially developed for a flight on the Russian Luna-27 mission, the payload package design was adapted for a more generic lander accommodation and will be flown on a lunar polar lander mission developed within the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. PROSPECT targets science and exploration in lunar areas that might harbor deposits of volatiles, and also supports the demonstration of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) techniques in the lunar environment. PROSPECT operations are designed to be automated to a significant degree but rely on operator monitoring during critical phases. Here, we report the PROSPECT flight design that will be built, tested, and qualified according to European space technology engineering standards before delivery to the lander provider for spacecraft integration. The package is currently in the hardware manufacturing and integration phase with a target delivery to the NASA-selected CLPS lander provider in 2025
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ProSPA: An instrument for lunar polar volatiles prospecting and in situ resource utilization proof of concept
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