Mechanical design of the optical unit and structural subsystem for a lunar camera

The project was initiated by the Moon Village Association (MVA). It is a non-governmental association which regulates the exploration program of lunar missions. The MVA also works on the development of space technologies: the Payload1 project is a part of it. The Payload 1 project is the first technical mission set by the MVA. Its goal is: “To reenact the Overview Effect, a psychological effect that took place after the return of astronauts from Apollo 11 mission. At the sight of planet Earth from the moon, the person subject to this effect presents a feeling of awareness of the Humanity as a whole, and the fragile equilibrium of life on Earth. The reenactment of the Overview effect is used as a mean to foster international collaboration between public and private actors." The eSpace, the Space Center of EPFL, was assigned the development of the Payload 1. In order to “reenact the Overview Effect”, the goal is to send a lunar lander equipped with a camera on the Moon’s surface. The camera will then take pictures of the Earth and send them (back to Earth). The launching, travelling and landing part of this mission should be handled by the MVA. The work of the eSpace is to design the lunar camera system which will be sent to the Moon. This corresponds to the electronics (camera sensor, motherboard...), the optical system, the actuation system and the external structure. Previous work has been done on this project to define the requirements of the mission, and the electronic part is currently being developed. In this semester project, the first part consists of the design of the optical unit. The actuation system is then developed. And finally, several preliminary designs of the system are realised.