Preliminary Design of a Lunar Reconnaissance Drone

In this report, a preliminary design study of a compact lunar reconnaissance drone module which will assist exploration rovers is presented. It is designed to assist future exploratory rover missions in difficult environments such as PSRs or extreme topographies. Although similar concepts have been validated on Mars by NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, only few such ideas exist for lunar applications. The main challenges of this project lie in the propulsion system to be used, the thermal system of the drone (due to extreme temperatures) and the 3D mapping of the lunar surface using a flash lidar system. These aspects were studied in detail with promising results: For a drone with a weight of 20 kg, 1 kg of green monopropellant is sufficient to cover a distance of a least 1 km before it needs refuelling. In this report, it is assumed that the lightweight flash lidar technology should be developed enough to allow for 10 cm resolution at 50 m flight altitude. This feasibility and initial design study sets a foundation for lunar drones and exploration of the Moon using flying spacecrafts, although many open questions remain to be solved and detailed designs to be performed.