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A Lunar L2-Farside Exploration and Science Mission Concept with the ORion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and a Teleoperated Lander/RoverA novel concept is presented in this paper for a human mission to the lunar L2 (Lagrange) point that would be a proving ground for future exploration missions to deep space while also overseeing scientifically important investigations. In an L2 halo orbit above the lunar farside, the astronauts would travel 15% farther from Earth than did the Apollo astronauts and spend almost three times longer in deep space. Such missions would validate the Orion MPCV's life support systems, would demonstrate the high-speed re-entry capability needed for return from deep space, and would measure astronauts' radiation dose from cosmic rays and solar flares to verify that Orion would provide sufficient protection, as it is designed to do. On this proposed mission, the astronauts would teleoperate landers and rovers on the unexplored lunar farside, which would obtain samples from the geologically interesting farside and deploy a low radio frequency telescope. Sampling the South Pole-Aitkin basin (one of the oldest impact basins in the solar system) is a key science objective of the 2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Observations of the Universe's first stars/galaxies at low radio frequencies are a priority of the 2010 Astronomy & Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Such telerobotic oversight would also demonstrate capability for human and robotic cooperation on future, more complex deep space missions.
Document ID
20130001816
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Burns, Jack O.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Kring, David
(Lunar and Planetary Inst. Houston, TX, United States)
Norris, Scott
(Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. Palo Alto, CA, United States)
Hopkins, Josh
(Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. Palo Alto, CA, United States)
Lazio, Joseph
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Kasper, Justin
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 27, 2013
Publication Date
May 21, 2012
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
GLEX-2012.04.2.3x12193
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA Global Space Exploration Conference
Location: Washington, DC
Country: United States
Start Date: May 22, 2012
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNA09DB30A
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNA09DB33A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV)
life support systems
Moon's farside
human mission

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