Moonshot (MOONSHOT)

Themes: Autonomous sensor systems

Science and technology for Lunar surface missions

Vision and Mission: The Moonshot program shares the ambition of humanity to become an interplanetary species, and in the upcoming years aims to advance both science and technological solutions pertinent to Lunar surface missions. To this end, we bring leading TU Delft research teams together in an interdisciplinary environment to improve the technology readiness levels (TRLs) of payloads destined for Moon in the upcoming decade, and thus strengthen the Dutch contribution towards this global mission.

Goals: The prgram will begin by improving the TRLs of 4 Lunar payloads, which stem from the expertise of TUD researchers from various faculties, including LOUPE (Lunar Observatory for Unresolved Polarimetry of Earth), Radiation sensing, Autonomous sensing, and Relative Position Navigation and Timing (PNT) of swarms.

Lunar Zebro: These Lunar payloads could be carried by the TU Delft Lunar Zebro rover (or the Zes Benige Robot), which is a robust swarm platform, capable of scaling and adapting to the needs of the scientific payloads it houses. The interfaces of the rover are customizable, which allows for the technical integration of the payload functionality with the operations of the rover.

Moonshot+ is an extension of the Moonshot program designed to involve a broader range of stakeholders, both within and beyond TU Delft, who are actively participating in and relevant to lunar exploration. The first work package in this context is "Moonshot+Lunar Architecture and Infrastructure" led by Henriette Bier of the faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft. Bringing together education and research, this WP aims to enable the next generation of experts to realize critical infrastructure for sustainable space exploration. More details about the project can be accessed at http://www.roboticbuilding.eu/project/moonshot/ . 
 

Project data

Researchers: Prem Sundaramoorthy, Victor Trees, Alessandra Meniccuci, Fabio Sebastiano, Henriette Bier, Raj Thilak Rajan
Starting date: March 2023
Closing date: December 2024
Funding: 300 kE; related to group 150 kE
Sponsor: TU Delft Space Institute (DSI)
Contact: Raj Thilak Rajan