LUNAR ISLANDS

LUNAR In-Situ LANDing Structures

Sponsor: European Space Agency (ESA)

Project management: Tobias Lamping

Summary of the overall project

The LUNAR ISLANDS research project focuses on investigating ways to minimise the release of loose regolith particles during the landing process of a lunar lander using a landing platform. Such platforms can be constructed using in-situ manufacturing techniques. An international consortium led by the Technical University of Dresden is evaluating the effectiveness of such structures. To this end, samples of lunar regolith are produced, whose composition differs from that of samples on Earth. These samples are subjected to stress in experimental investigations involving cold gas and hot burn tests using a rocket, and their interaction with the landing platform's regolith is examined. Additionally, a numerical model is being developed to simulate the landing platform's decomposition and the trajectories of the particles.

Goals and tasks of the iPAT

• Experimental characterization of regolith particles and sintered and melted regolith structures
• Development of a DEM- and CFD-DEM-based simulation model to simulate the erosion process in the context of regolith-landing platform interaction on the moon with different scales
• Calibration and validation of the DEM- and CFD-DEM-based simulation model

Project processing

• Dresden University of Technology, Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Chair of Space Systems, Project lead
• Technical University of Berlin, Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Chair of Aerospace Engineering
• University of Glasgow, James Watt School of Engineering, Aero-Physics Labotory
• Ofice National d'Ètudes et de Recherche Aérospatiales, Multi-Physics for Energetics Department (DMPE)