‘shoot for the moon’

AMSAT-UK : University of Surrey, July 25 2008 MSSL/UCL UK

‘‘Shoot for the Moon’Shoot for the Moon’

MSSL/UCL UK

Rob Gowenon behalf of the UK Penetrator Consortium

AMSAT-UK: University of Surrey, July 25 2008

Jon Excell, ‘The Engineer’


What are kinetic penetrators ?

Penetrator

Point of Separation

Payload Instruments

Detachable Propulsion Stage

PDS (Penetrator

Delivery System)

Instrumented projectiles Survive high impact speed Penetrate surface

~ few metres An alternative to soft

landers Low mass/lower cost

=> multi-site deployment


Challenges...

impact survivalimpact survival communicationscommunications power/lifetime/coldpower/lifetime/cold deliverydelivery radiationradiation fundingfunding

what the recent trial addressed

Need to counter all elementsnot just impact survival

Most difficult


Impact Velocity ?


Mars96 (Russia) failed to leave Earth orbit

DS2 (Mars) NASA 1999 ?

‘No survivable high velocity impacting probe has been successfully landed on any extraterrestrial body’

Japanese Lunar-A cancelled (now planned to fly on Russian Lunar Glob)

History


Feasibility ?– Lunar-A and DS2

space qualified.

– Military have been successfully firing instrumented projectiles for many years

– Most scientific instruments have space heritage

When asked to describe the When asked to describe the condition of a probe that had condition of a probe that had

impacted 2m of concrete at 300 m/s impacted 2m of concrete at 300 m/s a UK expert described the device as a UK expert described the device as

‘a bit scratched’!‘a bit scratched’!


MSSL Involvement

~2002 – became interested in micro-probes 2004 – exploring Aurora route 2005 – ESA Cosmic Visions (2015-2025) Late 2006 – PPARC lunar mission studies MSSL proposed penetrators MoonLITE selected for first mission Simultaneous promotion for Cosmic Vision

Area manager...Like riding on the back of a tiger...

‘Inspirational...’ NASA


Payload (2kg) Science Capability Micro seismometers sub-surface ocean, inner body

structure(astrobiology, geophysics)

Chemistry package (mass spect.) organics and inorganics (astrobiology)

Soil/environment package (accelerometers, thermometer, dielectric constant, radiation monitor, magnetometer, pH, Redox)

soil mechanical properties, thermal & electrical properties (astrobiology /geophysics)

Mineralogy/astrobiology camera Soil properties/astrobiologyDescent camera Impact site context & PR

payload instruments

Micro-PenetratorsMicro-Penetrators


Prime Planetary Targets

Moon

Europa

EnceladusTitan


Europa

• Subsurface Ocean ?• Life ?


Japanese Lunar-AContinuous launch delays

Several paper studies

Europa


10Km

Europa


EnceladusEnceladus

500Km dia. (c.f. with UK) Fierce south pole plume (ice/dust) Hi-albedo covering Saturnian moons ? ‘Atmosphere’ (H2O,N2,CO2,CH4) Liquid water under surface (life ?)

(image from Wikipedia)


TitanTitan

Titan as seen from the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft. WikipediaWikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens


TitanTitan

Titan as seen from the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft. WikipediaWikipedia

DunesDunes

Fluvial plainFluvial plain

heavy atmosphereheavy atmosphere mountains,mountains, dunesdunes lakeslakes weather weather windswinds clouds clouds precipitationprecipitation seasonsseasons complex organic complex organic

chemistrychemistry very cold very cold pre-biotic pre-biotic

chemisty ?chemisty ? life ?life ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens


“The Origin and Evolution of Planetary Bodies”

“Water and its profound implications for life andexploration”

MoonLITE Science & Exploration Objectives

“Ground truth & support for future human lunar missions”


MoonLITE Mission

Delivery and Comms Spacecraft (Orbiter).

Payload: 4 penetrator descent probes

Landing sites: Globally spaced - far side - polar region(s) - one near an Apollo landing site for calibration

Duration: >1 year for seismic network.

3

2

1

4

Far side

Polar commsorbiter


2

1

4

Science & ISRU Objectives3

Far side

lunar base ?– Characterize water, volatiles, and Characterize water, volatiles, and

astrobiologically related material at astrobiologically related material at lunar poles. lunar poles. => Water is key to manned missions=> Water is key to manned missions

– Constrain origin, differentiation, 3d Constrain origin, differentiation, 3d internal structure & far side crustal internal structure & far side crustal thickness of moon via a seismic thickness of moon via a seismic network.network.

– Investigate enigmatic strong surface Investigate enigmatic strong surface seismic signals seismic signals => identify potentially dangerous sites=> identify potentially dangerous sitesfor lunar basesfor lunar bases

– Determine thermal & compositional Determine thermal & compositional differences at differences at polar regionspolar regions and and far sidefar side..

– Obtain ground truth for remote sensing instrumentsObtain ground truth for remote sensing instruments


A global network of seismometers will tell us: – Size and physical state of the Lunar Core– Structure of the Lunar Mantle– Thickness of the far side crust– The origin of the enigmatic shallow moon-quakes– The seismic environment at potential

manned landing sites

Science – Lunar Seismology

Micro-seismometer, IC


Science – Polar VolatilesA suite of instruments will detect and characterise volatiles (including water) within shaded craters at both poles

Astrobiologically important– possibly remnant of the original seeding

of planets by comets– may provide evidence of important cosmic-ray

mediated organic synthesis Vital to the future manned exploration of the Moon

Prototype,ruggedized ion trap mass-spectrometerOpen University

NASA Lunar Prospector


Science - Geochemistry

X-ray spectroscopy at multiple, diverse sites will address:

– Lunar Geophysical diversity– Ground truth for remote sensing

XRS on Beagle-2

Leicester University

K, Ca, Ti, Fe, Rb, Sr, Zr


Science – Heat Flow

Heat flow measurements will be made at diverse sites, telling us:

– Information about thecomposition and thermal evolution of planetary interiors

– Whether the Th concentration in the PKT is a surface or mantle phenomina

NASA Lunar Prospector


Development Program

Studies Simulation & Modelling Impact Trials

– build a real penetrator– impact it into a sand target at

near supersonic speed !


Impact Trial - ObjectivesImpact Trial - Objectives Demonstrate survivability of penetrator shell, Demonstrate survivability of penetrator shell,

accelerometers and power system.accelerometers and power system. Assess impact on penetrator subsystems and instruments.Assess impact on penetrator subsystems and instruments. Determine internal acceleration environmentDetermine internal acceleration environment

at different positions within penetrator. at different positions within penetrator. Extend predictive modelling to new impact and penetrator Extend predictive modelling to new impact and penetrator

materials.materials. Assess alternative packing methods.Assess alternative packing methods. Assess interconnect philosophy.Assess interconnect philosophy.


Impact Trial: 19-21 May 2008Impact Trial: 19-21 May 2008

Full-scale trial 3 Penetrators, Aluminium 300m/s impact velocity Normal Incidence Dry sand target

0.56m

13 Kg

… just 9 months from start to end. Starting from scratch in Sep’07


Impact trial - ContributorsImpact trial - Contributors


Impact trial – PayloadImpact trial – Payload

Radiation sensor

MagnetometersBatteries

Mass spectrometer

Micro-seismometers

Drill assembly

AccelerometersPowerInterconnectionProcessing

Accelerometers, ThermometerBatteries,Data logger


Trial Hardware Trial Hardware

Inners Stack


Impact Trial - ConfigurationImpact Trial - Configuration

Rocket sledRocket sled PenetratorPenetrator


TargetTarget

Dry sandDry sand 2m x2m x6m2m x2m x6m Small front entrance aperture (polythene)Small front entrance aperture (polythene)


Real-Time Impact Video


FiringFiring


1’st Firing - Results1’st Firing - Results

• Penetrator found in top of target• Glanced off a steel girder which radically changed its orientation.• Penetration: ~3.9m• Much ablation to nose and belly• Rear flare quite distorted. • Penetrator in one piece ✓

Firing parameters:• Impact velocity: 310 m/s (c.f. 300m/s nominal)• Nose-up ~8degs (c.f. 0 degs nominal)

=> worst case


Post FiringPost Firingbelly up ! belly up !


First Firing – Opening upFirst Firing – Opening up

ss


11stst Firing – internal Results Firing – internal Results

Micro seismometer bay

Connecting to MSSL accelerometerand data processing bay


1’srt Firing – QinetiQ 1’srt Firing – QinetiQ accelerometer dataaccelerometer data

Overview: 5 kgee smoothed,~16 kgee peakhigh frequency components ~5khz

Initial impact hi-res: Tail slap peak


1’st Firing – MSSL accelerometer data1’st Firing – MSSL accelerometer data

Along axis:Along axis: Cutter: 3kgee Cutter: 3kgee Main: 10kgeeMain: 10kgee Girder: 1kgeeGirder: 1kgee

Along axis

Vertical axis

Horizontal axis

Firing Along axis

Vertical Horizontal

1’st 10 kgee 15kgee 4kgee

3’rd 11kgee 17kgee 7kgee

Peak gee forces in rear of penetrator11 kgee

15 kgee

4 kgee

GirderMain impactcutter


Hi-res MSSL accelerometer dataHi-res MSSL accelerometer data

Lots of high frequency structure


2nd Firing2nd Firing

“Jaws-3?”

..struck steel girder and moved it 6 inches


Firings OverviewFirings Overview All 3 firings remarkably consistent ~308-310m/s velocity, and All 3 firings remarkably consistent ~308-310m/s velocity, and

~8 degs nose up.~8 degs nose up. All 3 Penetrators survived & Payloads still operationalAll 3 Penetrators survived & Payloads still operational..

Steel nose for 3rd firing


Survival TableSurvival TableItem Firing 1 Firing 2 Firing 3Penetrator ✓ ✓ ✓Q-accel sys ✓ ✓ ✓Rad sensor ✓ not present not presentBatteries ✓ not present not presentDrill assembly ✓ not present not presentMagnetometer ✓ not present not presentMicro seismometers

not present ✓ (protected suspensions ok)

✓ (protected suspensions ok)

Mass spectrometer+ other package elements

not present ✓x pressure sensorx 3ų heating element

✓x pressure sensor✓6ų heating element

MSSL accel sys ✓ ✓ ✓

Triple worst case: exceed 300m/s, >8deg attack angle

No critical failures – currently all minor to unprotected bays or preliminary mountings


Impact Trial ObjectivesImpact Trial Objectives

Demonstrate survivability of penetrator body, Demonstrate survivability of penetrator body, accelerometers and power system.accelerometers and power system.

Assess impact on penetrator subsystems and instruments.Assess impact on penetrator subsystems and instruments.Determine internal acceleration environmentDetermine internal acceleration environment

at different positions within penetrator. at different positions within penetrator. Extend predictive modelling to new penetrator materials,Extend predictive modelling to new penetrator materials,

and impact materials.and impact materials.Assess alternative packing methods.Assess alternative packing methods.Assess interconnect philosophy.Assess interconnect philosophy.


Next Steps & Strategy …Next Steps & Strategy …

Next trial – aiming for Jun’09.Next trial – aiming for Jun’09. Impact into closer representative lunar regolithImpact into closer representative lunar regolith Design for MoonDesign for Moon Full-up system (all operating)Full-up system (all operating) Transmit from targetTransmit from target

Strategy: in parallel :-Strategy: in parallel :-- MoonLITE Phase-A- MoonLITE Phase-A‾ Delta developments for icy planetsDelta developments for icy planets


- End -- End -

Penetrator website:http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/planetary/missions/Micro_Penetrators.php

email: [email protected]

http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/planetary/missions/Micro_Penetrators.php

mailto:[email protected]


Penetrator Payload/Science Penetrator Payload/Science A nominal 2kg payload …A nominal 2kg payload …

AccelerometersAccelerometers – Probe surface/sub-surface material – Probe surface/sub-surface material (hardness/composition) (hardness/composition)

SeismometersSeismometers - Probe interior structure (existence/size of water - Probe interior structure (existence/size of water reservoirs) and seismic activity of bodies reservoirs) and seismic activity of bodies

Chemical sensorsChemical sensors – Probe surface refactory/volatile (organic/ – Probe surface refactory/volatile (organic/ astrobiologic) chemicals, perhaps arising from interior.astrobiologic) chemicals, perhaps arising from interior.

Thermal sensorsThermal sensors - Determine subsurface temperatures and possibly - Determine subsurface temperatures and possibly probe deep interior processes.probe deep interior processes.

Mineralogy/astrobiology cameraMineralogy/astrobiology camera – Probe surface mineralogy and – Probe surface mineralogy and possible astrobiological material.possible astrobiological material.

+ other instruments – to probe surface magnetic field, radiation, + other instruments – to probe surface magnetic field, radiation, beeping transmitter, etc…beeping transmitter, etc…

descent cameradescent camera (surface morphology, landing site location, etc) (surface morphology, landing site location, etc)


Enceladus - Science/Technology Enceladus - Science/Technology RequirementsRequirements

TargetTarget– E.g. region of upwelled interior material.E.g. region of upwelled interior material.– 2 penetrators would allow additional target, improved seismic results and 2 penetrators would allow additional target, improved seismic results and

natural redundancy but require 2xmass.natural redundancy but require 2xmass. LifetimeLifetime

– Only minutes/hours required for camera, accelerometer, chemistry, thermal Only minutes/hours required for camera, accelerometer, chemistry, thermal & mineralogy/astrobiologic measurements.& mineralogy/astrobiologic measurements.

– An orbital period (~few days) for seismic measurements. An orbital period (~few days) for seismic measurements. (requires RHU)(requires RHU)

Spacecraft supportSpacecraft support– ~7-9 years cruise phase, health reporting~7-9 years cruise phase, health reporting

DeliveryDelivery– Targetting precision.Targetting precision.– Ejection, descent motors & orientation, pre-impact separation, Ejection, descent motors & orientation, pre-impact separation,

communications, impact.communications, impact. OperationOperation

– Power/thermal (battery/RHU), data handling, communications.Power/thermal (battery/RHU), data handling, communications.


Preliminary Mass EstimatesPreliminary Mass Estimates

ItemItem EnceladusEnceladus TitanTitanOrbitOrbit

DeploymentDeployment

TitanTitanBalloonBalloon

DeploymentDeployment

Penetrator Penetrator (inc. 2 kg payload)(inc. 2 kg payload)

~4.5Kg~4.5Kg ~4.5Kg~4.5Kg ~4.5Kg~4.5Kg

Delivery system(*)Delivery system(*) ~32Kg~32Kg ~3.5-23Kg~3.5-23Kg ~2.5Kg~2.5Kg

Spacecraft supportSpacecraft support ~2.5Kg~2.5Kg ~1.5-2.5Kg~1.5-2.5Kg ~1.5Kg~1.5Kg

Total massTotal mass ~39Kg~39Kg ~12-30kg~12-30kg ~8.5Kg~8.5Kg

(*) heavy penalty for Enceladus delivery: estimate ~8x(penetrator mass) with deployment from Titan with ∆V~3.7Km/sec

‘shoot for the moon’

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