Lunar space race
As Google Lunar X Prize approaches its final ten year limit, without certain winner (or even a certain launch attempt), it might seem that GLXP failed its purpose. It took twice as much time, and the most serious teams have received "help" from its national governments in one way or another. So it is not likely that we might see another X Prize related competition related to the Moon, or any other body any time soon.
So what achievable and worthwhile target could be proposed? We have witnessed a smallsat/cubesat revolution, which is already responsible for majority of space objects released in space. But they are mostly constrained by its lack of serious propulsion capabilities, which has sparked a great interest and provided candidates such as Busek BIT-3, PEPL CAT, ARD MPS-160, Accion TILE-5000, and probably others.
So there are many ready made components for cubesats available. Its pricing is within reach of universities, and there are several propulsion providers. Furthermore, most of the rockets have ready dispensers for cubesats, and there is significant number of missions going to GTO every year (which equals to frequent launch opportunities).
Beside providing a testing ground for long duration cubesat propulsion, this effort would require significant communication upgrades (due to large distances compared to LEO), orbital planning and GNC in cis-lunar space. Participants would be required to provide their cubesat on the target date for payload integration and processing. After launch and checkout on GTO orbit, they could start with propulsion at the same time. Cubesats could also use limited classic propulsion for attitude control and critical maneuvers. The participants would be required to perform a single circumlunar free return trajectory around the moon (like Apollo 13), take a picture of the dark side of the moon, transfer it to Earth and burn up in Earth atmosphere.
Although expected duration of the flight (mainly caused by slow orbit raising by electric propulsion) would be around a year, it would not be easy to foresee the winner until the very end of the competition. Participating teams would require investments in the range of million USD (excluding work effort and launch), so the competition could be repeated in regular intervals. NASA Cube Quest Challenge, or DARPA Robotic Challenge are examples of government driven challenges of similar scope, but avoid team participation outside USA. But the main advantage of international competition is the public engagement and influencing young people to STEM careers, which, in general, benefit all participating countries.
So what achievable and worthwhile target could be proposed? We have witnessed a smallsat/cubesat revolution, which is already responsible for majority of space objects released in space. But they are mostly constrained by its lack of serious propulsion capabilities, which has sparked a great interest and provided candidates such as Busek BIT-3, PEPL CAT, ARD MPS-160, Accion TILE-5000, and probably others.
So there are many ready made components for cubesats available. Its pricing is within reach of universities, and there are several propulsion providers. Furthermore, most of the rockets have ready dispensers for cubesats, and there is significant number of missions going to GTO every year (which equals to frequent launch opportunities).
Beside providing a testing ground for long duration cubesat propulsion, this effort would require significant communication upgrades (due to large distances compared to LEO), orbital planning and GNC in cis-lunar space. Participants would be required to provide their cubesat on the target date for payload integration and processing. After launch and checkout on GTO orbit, they could start with propulsion at the same time. Cubesats could also use limited classic propulsion for attitude control and critical maneuvers. The participants would be required to perform a single circumlunar free return trajectory around the moon (like Apollo 13), take a picture of the dark side of the moon, transfer it to Earth and burn up in Earth atmosphere.
Although expected duration of the flight (mainly caused by slow orbit raising by electric propulsion) would be around a year, it would not be easy to foresee the winner until the very end of the competition. Participating teams would require investments in the range of million USD (excluding work effort and launch), so the competition could be repeated in regular intervals. NASA Cube Quest Challenge, or DARPA Robotic Challenge are examples of government driven challenges of similar scope, but avoid team participation outside USA. But the main advantage of international competition is the public engagement and influencing young people to STEM careers, which, in general, benefit all participating countries.
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