Application Of The LVS Subsurface Probe On The LUVMI Rover For A LUNAR Volatiles Exploration Mission

Abstract

We present the latest iteration of the Lunar Volatiles Scout (LVS), a novel instrument to access and characterise lunar volatiles insitu. The LVS is currently being developed in a cooperation between Technical University of Munich (TUM) and OHB System as part of the Lunar Volatiles Mobile Instrument (LUVMI)study, conducted in the frame of the EU Horizon 2020 initiative and led by the Belgian company Space Applications Services. LUVMI aims to develop a comprehensive light-weight(20-40 kg)rover for investigations on volatiles in and around permanently shadowed regions on the Moon. The platform is envisioned as a possible secondary payload to one of the currently planned missions to the lunar poles. It features an active chassis with four independently steerable wheels, an innovative light-field camera, the Volatiles Sampler (represented by the LVS), and the Volatiles Analyser (miniature mass spectrometer)