A Low-Lunar Orbit CubeSat Solution to Mission-Oriented Lunar Surface Imagery Requirements

Abstract

For spaceflight activities in Earth orbit or in Earth's atmosphere, such as on-orbit operations, flight tests, launches, and landings, remote-sensing optical-infrared assets can be used to monitor and document mission performance. These observations can be made using assets in the diverse orbital, airborne, and ground-based infrastructure built up for operations on or near Earth. Public and private sector entities from various countries are formulating plans and developing architectures for missions on and near the lunar surface, which are forecast to proliferate in the coming years. The paradigm for lunar imaging assets has historically been limited to standalone, expensive projects such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) or its planned follow on, the Lunar Exploration and Science Orbiter (LExSO). Aside from the expense involved in developing, deploying, and operating such assets, they are inherently limited as singular platforms. This work proposes a low-lunar-orbit, CubeSat-based solution to mission-oriented remote sensing for activities on and near the lunar surface, on the basis that CubeSats can be developed and deployed in greater numbers and involve less expense than their larger counterparts. Analysis in this work includes an exploration of orbital stability and an assessment of suitability for imagery objectives. The data discussed herein include a summary of the results of 3,420 individual circular orbital initial configurations in the low-lunar-orbit regime. Each orbit's data set is the result of a high-fidelity simulation including high-resolution lunar gravitational models. Results explored include a discussion of orbital longevity and parametric stability, suitability for imagery objectives, and assessment of surface imagery coverage from spatial and temporal perspectives.