The Challenge | Mission to the Moon!
Amundsen LSER
The Amundsen LSER (Lunar Surface Exploration Rover) is a project aimed at analyzing the ice deposits found in Moon's south pole region and researching the possibility of using them to manufacture propellant or liquid water for future missions e.g. LOP-G.
As humanity looks deeper than ever into space, we need to develop ways to make it easier for us to explore it. Unfortunately it is very hard to get directly from Earth into space and to solve this issue scientists look to the moon for answers.
The idea is to create an outpost, which would serve as a sort of a gateway for spacecraft where they could refuel etc.[1] Sustaining such a base will be dificult. Providing it with all the necesary things will be dificult. Thanks to the recent discoveries about lunar ice deposits in the polar regions of the moon[2], the task of sustaining such a mission could prove easier. Ice can be turned into water which can be used for creating propelant for the spacecraft and also as a vital survival resource for the crews.
What this project proposes is sending a rover to investigate the possibilities of using lunar ice for these tasks. The rover would be sent to the south pole region, because the concentration of water is bigger there than in the north. This position makes it easy to acces even from the proposed LOP Gateway. [3]
The rover would have equipment for geological research and drilling, maybe even a capsule for returning the samples to scientists. Findings from rthe curiosity mision could be utilised
1 https://www.google.cz/search?q=lopg&oq=lopg&aqs=ch...
2 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=721...
3 http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/orion-e...
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