Orion/MoonRise: A proposed human & robotic sample return mission from the Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin

Abstract

This paper describes a new mission concept called Orion/MoonRise that proposes to return samples from the Lunar far-side South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPAB) using a combination of a robotic Sample Return Vehicle (SRV) based on the MoonRise mission concept developed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle currently under development by NASA at Lockheed Martin. The mission concept proposes significant challenges for both robotic and human parts of the mission. Whereas there are many ways to execute this mission concept, one approach is for the Orion and the SRV to launch separately. We assume that the Orion will be staged at the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 (EM-L2) and the SRV at EM-L1. Once both are in place, the SRV descends to the SPAB while the Orion provides critical relay coverage with ground control on Earth. During surface operations, the Orion crew tele-operate the lander sampling system and possibly deploy a sample fetch rover. Once the samples are collected, the Lunar Ascent Vehicle (LAV) launches towards the EM-L2 to rendezvous with Orion. The samples are then brought back to Earth for detailed sample curation and analysis by the scientific community. The Orion/MoonRise mission concept has many strengths worth noting: it provides a very exciting mission to be performed in cis-Lunar space, as a precursor to future human exploration beyond the Earth-Moon System and as a technology demonstration for future sample return from Mars; it implements a mission that is of tremendous value to the planetary science community; it provides an exciting and challenging mission for astronauts to perform and demonstrate in deep-space including remote teleoperations and sample rendezvous and capture; and finally it provides an exciting opportunity for the broad engagement of the general public.