CLLARE Lunar Lander
From CSTART Wiki
The CLLARE Lunar Lander is a light and simple, open vehicle designed for descent from lunar orbit to the lunar surface and ascent back to orbit. The lander is capable of carrying one astronaut in a chair at the top of the vehicle. The lander's minimalist design was inspired by several planned but never built landers like the Apollo Lunar Escape System ("LESS") and the Langley Light, Lighter and Lightest landers.
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[edit] Lander Construction
The lander is constructed of extruded aluminium tubing or beams and a centrally placed short, cylindrical tank with rounded top and bottom surfaces. Another related design currently being discussed would replace the single, divided tank with four smaller spherical tanks. The four legs are supported by three beams in a sturdy, triangular bracing scheme.
[edit] Vehicle Mass
The beams weigh 1.890 kg/m and the lander (minus legs) consists of approximately 23.1 meters of beams for a total mass of ~43.6kg. Each leg and leg rotator assembly weighs approximately 15kg. This makes the total structural weight approximately 103.6kg. This figure does not include the weight of the seat, steps, descent motor, fuel tanks, life support, and electronics. For comparison, the Apollo LM had a fueled mass of 14,696 kg.
[edit] Seat
The lander's seat is a lightweight frame that the astronaut sits on. The seat's attachment to the lander frame allows for several centimetres of shock absorption. The seat has two female seat belt fittings that mate with two male seat belt fittings that are integral to the space suit.
[edit] Propulsion
The lander's engine and fuel tanks will most likely be derived from those of the CLLARE Propulsion Module.
[edit] Navigation, Guidance and RCS
These systems will most likely be derived from the equivalent systems in the CLLARE Command Module, with the addition of radar or laser based sensors to measure distance from the surface, rate of decent and perhaps surface topography.
