The science objectives of the SELENE-II mission as the post SELENE mission

Details The science objectives of the SELENE-II mission as the post SELENE mission The science objectives of the SELENE-II mission as the post SELENE mission

Jul 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008adspr..42..394s&link_type=abstract

Advances in Space Research, Volume 42, Issue 2, p. 394-401.

Mathematics

Logic

7

Scientific paper

Further study for the planning of the post SELENE mission has been discussed by a dedicated working group. As the extension of the SELENE-B study [Okada, T., Sasaki, S., Sugihara, T., et al. Lander and rover exploration on the lunar surface: a study for SELENE-B mission. Adv. Space Res. 37, 88 92, 2006] which proposed in-situ geological investigations using a robotic rover and a static lander, this report newly proposes a revised configuration which enhances the scientific field of view. The spacecraft of this mission, “SELENE-II”, is designed as a full payload of H-II launch vehicle, while the former study was designed as a half payload of the same vehicle. This expansion of capacity enabled us to increase the payload mass of the lander to deploy geophysical instruments and to land on a wider region on the Moon including polar regions. We also gained the opportunity to deploy two penetrators in order to make a wide network for geophysical observations. In the new configuration, this mission can install three stations of a global seismic network, which will be able to refine the deeper structure of the Moon. In this study also, a new type of deployment system, whose mechanical interface is much simpler than that of the LUNAR-A mission, is preliminarily designed. The selection of the landing site is still undergoing discussion, but the lander is required to operate as long as about one year and more for the geophysical observations, especially for seismology. In order to realize this, one possible idea is to land in permanently sunlit regions. Polar regions also have a benefit from the geological point of view; the north polar region is a typical high land area and the south one is a part of or adjacent to the South Pole Aitken (SPA), where the deeper part of the crust or the mantle material are expected to be collected. In addition to the lander scientific instruments designed previously (Okada et al., 2006.) for the geological survey, a broad band seismometer is considered to be deployed prior to other geophysical instruments and we expect it to provide us with information about the bulk layered structure with only one station if free oscillations are successfully detected. Even if the free oscillations cannot be detected, the dispersion of surface waves not affected by scattering of the regolith or megaregolith layer brings information to understand the crustal and upper mantle structures. Several landing missions are planned by NASA, CNSA, ISRO, and ESA by 2010 2015 during which the operational period is possible to be overlapped by the different missions. This must be a great opportunity to make larger network observations in the future. It must be a great opportunity to start international collaboration in various ways for the upcoming lunar exploration era.

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