Suitability of Reusability for a Lunar Re-Supply System

Abstract

Moon landers built in the past were designed and optimized for specific missions, with a limited consideration of follow-on missions. They were expendable and based on storable hypergolic propellants. In order to enable a sustainable presence on the Moon for research but also other activities, a new type of transportation architecture is needed. Technical developments since the 1960s open a large range of new solutions which could be beneficial for a lunar transportation. The ROBEX (Robotic Exploration under Extreme Conditions) project, in particular, is focusing on new types of lunar architectures, for which modularity, re-configurability and flexibility should play a central role to guarantee the sustainability of the design. In this framework a reusable lunar single stage to orbit vehicle called RLRV (Reusable Lunar Resupply Vehicle) has been designed. It is able to land payloads on the Moon and to launch payloads from the lunar surface in anticipation of their return back to Earth. The RLRV is characterized by a design relying on the combination of cryogenic propulsion, in-situ propellant production and reusability. Important technologies that are enabling such a design have been identified to refine the RLRV design. The flexibility of the vehicle has been demonstrated with the assessment of its performance for a whole range of missions. The comparison of the RLRV with a classic lander such as the descent module of the Apollo Lunar Lander demonstrates that a large reduction of the payload to be injected by an Earth launch vehicle and an Earth departure stage can be achieved with the proposed design.