Evaluating potential landing sites for the Artemis III mission using a multi-criteria decision making approach ...

The selection of a landing site within the Artemis Exploration Zone (AEZ) involves multiple factors and presents a complex problem. This study evaluates potential landing sites for the Artemis III mission using a combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Peña-Asensio, Eloy, Neira-Acosta, Álvaro-Steve, Sánchez-Lozano, Juan Miguel
Format: Report
Language:unknown
Published: arXiv 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2406.19863
https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.19863
Description
Summary:The selection of a landing site within the Artemis Exploration Zone (AEZ) involves multiple factors and presents a complex problem. This study evaluates potential landing sites for the Artemis III mission using a combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methodologies, specifically the TOPSIS algorithm. By integrating topographic, illumination, and mineralogy data of the Moon, we assess 1247 locations that meet the Human Landing System (HLS) requirements within 13 candidate regions and Site 004 near the lunar south pole. Criteria considered include surface visibility, HLS-astronaut line of sight, Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs), sunlight exposure, direct communication with Earth, geological units, and mafic mineral abundance. Site DM2 (Nobile Rim 2), particularly the point at latitude 84°12'5.61" S and longitude 60°41'59.61" E, is the optimal location for landing. Sensitivity analysis confirms the robustness of our approach, validating the suitability ... : Submitted to Acta Astronautica ...