Cislunar CubeSats to Measure Radiation in Support for Human Space Exploration

• Main Authors: Guardabasso, Paolo, Lizy-Destrez, Stéphanie
• Other Authors: Département Conception et conduite des véhicules Aéronautiques et Spatiaux (DCAS), Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: Cislunar; Cubesats; Radiation; Space exploration; [SPI.OTHER]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Other; Lagrange; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03550624; https://hal.science/hal-03550624/document; https://hal.science/hal-03550624/file/Guardabasso_28567.pdf

International audience The intentions of space agencies and private entities alike are clear: humankind wants to establish its presence on and around the Moon. Plans for the exploration of the surface of Earth’s only natural satellite are established, with international accords and partnership being created around the globe. A new opportunity arises for the space community as national agencies are currently collaborating in the conception of a lunar orbiting station, symbolic successor of the International Space Station (ISS) currently on a Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This “Gateway” station, will serve multiple purposes, including supporting human and robotic activity on the lunar surface and scientific research in Lunar vicinity. It will be placed on a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the second Earth Moon Lagrange point (EML), with its apoapsis over the lunar south pole [1]. In this zone, the radiation environment is not yet very well known: the station will be equipped with the ERSA and HERMES sensors suites to measure doses absorbed by the crews on the NRHO. Nevertheless, a complete cartography of the larger cislunar space is not yet available, but it would prove very useful for all future missions to the Moon.This paper discusses the preliminary design of a lunar CubeSat mission, developed by the Space Advanced Concepts Laboratory at the Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO) in Toulouse, France. The mission, named DRACO (Detection of RAdiation in Cislunar space Orbit), considers two CubeSats deployed in the cislunar space to study its radiation environment, gaining knowledge for future crewed missions near the Earth-Moon Lagrange (EML) points, and proving the ability of nanosatellites to operate in this environment. Moreover, one of the key functions of the Gateway station will be the deployment of smaller spacecraft. This assumption will simplify the mission design for the DRACO CubeSats’ reduced propulsion and control capabilities, avoiding performing a lunar insertion ...