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Developing a mission for private explorers to go to the Moon. PDF Print E-mail
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Written by Yuki D. Takahashi   
Monday, 05 March 2007
Motivation:
Many of us have grown up looking at the Moon, wondering what it may be like to go there. Being able to actually go to that familiar object in the sky and looking back at our home planet as a whole in the midst of darkness will probably be a life-altering experience. Do we keep waiting, hoping for someone else to make this possible? Let us begin developing a mission that can actually take ourselves to the Moon. At worst, we will learn what it really takes to get there; at best, we will create a realistic proposal that inspires someone to fund it so that we can actually realize this mission.

Proposal:
Few things are more exciting than working on something that can become real for ourselves. We can start developing a small private explorers mission (starting w/ a proposal) with each of us as really a crew member candidate. We shall make it a sustained and continually refined proposal that is realistic enough for us to actually make it happen within several years as soon as we find funding.

Initially, we shall keep it minimal:

Mission: Go to a lunar orbit and return to the Earth.

* Crew
A pilot, a co-pilot (also a commander), a medical/safety specialist, and 2+ passengers.

We will propose to develop each of the following (or identify suppliers):

* Transporatation system
1. Take-off facility (launch pad / runway)
2. Propulsion system to go into Earth's orbit (10 km/s).
3. Propulsion to scape the Earth and enter a Lunar orbit (4 km/s).
4. Propulsion to escape the Moon toward the Earth.
5. Aerobrake to re-enter the Earth.
6. Landing method.
7. Landing site.

* Attitude control system, navigation
1. Thrusters
2. Communication (antennas)

* Ground support
1. Spacecraft tracking
2. Navigation
3. Communication

* Habitable spacecraft
1. Air (pressure)
2. Water & Food
3. Radiation protection
4. Meteorite/debris protection
5. Acceleration support (seats, straps)
6. Waste management (toilet)
7. Emergency plan

* Spacesuit

* Legal
1. Air space permit

2nd level mission: Enable going outside the spacecraft.

3rd level mission: Land on the Moon.

We might be able to work with companies like Virgin/Scaled to make it a routine mission.

http://courses.ae.uiuc.edu/AE440-A/files/SARIGUL.AIAA2004-872.pdf




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