A Conceptual Design Study for an Unmanned, Reusable Cargo Lunar Lander

Abstract

Motivated by the aggressive timeline of NASA’s Artemis Program, the feasibility of evolving a mid-sized, reusable and refuelable cargo lunar lander technology demonstrator into the descent element of the three- stage human lander was assessed with the goal of forming synergies between both acquisition programs. Requirements for such a concept are that it must be deployed on commercial launch vehicles that are expected to enter into service consistent with Artemis’ timeline. In order to assess this concept’s feasibility, a physics-based analysis of alternatives was conducted where mission and vehicle architectures are traded side-by-side. Mission trades considered include the impacts of traveling to near-rectilinear halo orbit quickly versus slowly; vehicle trades include fuel and oxidizer tank configurations, number of engines, and propellant combinations, as well as several technology options, e.g. reduced and zero boil-off strategies. Results and discussions are presented to facilitate the consideration of this concept. lunar lander, systems analysis, multidisciplinary design and analysis, space systems, analysis of alternatives,