Related papers: The Lunar Geophysical Network Landing Sites Scienc…

A problem of determining attainable landing sites on the surface of Venus is an essential part of the Venera-D project aimed to explore the planet using a lander. This problem appears due to the inability for the descent module to land at…

The Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR) is a team of researchers and students at leading universities, NASA centers, and federal research laboratories undertaking investigations aimed at using the Moon as a platform…

A novel concept is presented in this paper for a human mission to the lunar L2 (Lagrange) point that would be a proving ground for future exploration missions to deep space while also overseeing scientifically important investigations. In…

We study the characteristics of Near-Earth-Networks (NENs) of gamma-ray burst (GRB) detectors, with the objective of defining a network with all-sky, full-time localization capability for multi-messenger astrophysics. We show that a minimum…

The aim of this work is to combine the model of orbital and rotational motion of the Moon developed for DE430 with up-to-date astronomical, geodynamical, and geo- and selenophysical models. The parameters of the orbit and physical libration…

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the use of a SmallSat platform for the future Lunar Navigation Satellite System (LNSS) to allow for cost-effectiveness and rapid deployment. However, many design choices are yet to be finalized…

Robotics plays a pivotal role in planetary science and exploration, where autonomous and reliable systems are crucial due to the risks and challenges inherent to space environments. The establishment of permanent lunar bases demands robotic…

India's third Moon mission Chandrayaan 3 will deploy a lander and a rover at a high latitude location of the Moon enabling us to carry out first ever in-situ science investigations of such a pristine location that will potentially improve…

The Lunar Gravitational-wave Antenna (LGWA) is a proposed array of next-generation inertial sensors to monitor the response of the Moon to gravitational waves (GWs). Given the size of the Moon and the expected noise produced by the lunar…

This manuscript analyzes lunar lander soil erosion models and trajectory models to calculate how much damage will occur to spacecraft orbiting in the vicinity of the Moon. The soil erosion models have considerable uncertainty due to gaps in…

This paper presents a navigation strategy to fly to the Moon along a Weak Stability Boundary transfer trajectory. A particular strategy is devised to ensure capture into an uncontrolled relatively stable orbit at the Moon. Both uncertainty…

We examine data obtained by the Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) onboard the Chang'E-4 (CE-4) mission to study the dielectric properties and stratigraphy of lunar regolith on the far side of the Moon. The data collected from January 2019 to…

TeamIndus' lunar logistics vision includes multiple lunar missions to meet requirements of science, commercial and efforts towards global exploration. The first mission is slated for launch in 2020. The prime objective is to demonstrate…

Current and future optical technologies will aid exploration of the Moon and Mars while advancing fundamental physics research in the solar system. Technologies and possible improvements in the laser-enabled tests of various physical…

Terrain relative navigation can improve the precision of a spacecraft's position estimate by detecting global features that act as supplementary measurements to correct for drift in the inertial navigation system. This paper presents a…

Mars is the next milestone in human exploration. However, there are still several challenges that must be assessed to ensure appropriate conditions in a future settlement. Communications services will be essential for this task, providing…

At the Royal Society meeting in 2023, we have mainly presented our lunar orbit array concept called DSL, and also briefly introduced a concept of a lunar surface array, LARAF. As the DSL concept had been presented before, in this article we…

Lunar gravitational-wave (GW) detectors relying on the measurement of the response of the Moon to GWs are susceptible to a seismic background, which might pose a fundamental sensitivity limitation. The Lunar Gravitational-wave Antenna…

New concepts were recently proposed for gravitational-wave (GW) detectors on the Moon. These include laser-interferometric detectors, proposed as free-range or optical-fiber interferometers, and inertial acceleration sensors. Some of them…

The active broadband (1 kHz-100 MHz) tripole antenna now envisaged to be placed on the European Lunar Lander located at the Lunar South Pole allows for sensitive measurements of the exosphere and ionosphere, and their interaction with the…