10:45 〜 11:00
[PPS08-07] 月極域探査機（LUPEX）プロジェクトにおけるローバシステムの概要
★招待講演
キーワード：月極域、ローバ、月極域探査機プロジェクト
Analysis of recent remote sensing observations suggests the presence of hydrogen, which is thought to be water ice, in the South Polar region of the Moon. To investigate the quantity and quality of water in this region, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is planning the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, an international joint mission between JAXA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In this mission, JAXA will be primarily responsible for the rover and launch vehicle, while ISRO will be responsible for the lander. After landing on the Moon, the rover will explore and survey a large area of the surface to determine whether lunar water resources can be used for sustainable human activities on the Moon in the future. In addition, LUPEX aims to demonstrate technologies related to surface exploration of gravitational bodies, including surface mobility, excavation, and nighttime survivability, which are necessary for future lunar exploration activities.
The LUPEX rover's system consists primarily of subsystems for power, communications, thermal, navigation, mobility, and regolith handling. The power subsystem includes high energy density batteries and solar panels. X-band and S-band communications are used between the rover and Earth and between the rover and the lander, respectively. A thermal control subsystem consisting of radiator panels, multi-layer insulation (MLI), etc., keeps the rover's payload within acceptable temperatures. The rover is equipped with four-legged crawlers to ensure stability in rough terrain covered with regolith. A 1.5 meter long earth auger will be used to drill and extract regolith to survey water resources.
For the development of the rover system, various tests are ongoing in a variety of environments. Mobility tests are being conducted in a vacuum chamber with a sand container covered with regolith simulant to evaluate the interaction between the rover and the lunar surface. The mobility and navigation subsystem designs will be further validated in an outdoor natural environment. In addition, thermal vacuum tests are conducted using a thermal test model of the rover system to evaluate the thermal characteristics of the various onboard components. This presentation will provide a detailed overview of the rover system in the LUPEX project.
The LUPEX rover's system consists primarily of subsystems for power, communications, thermal, navigation, mobility, and regolith handling. The power subsystem includes high energy density batteries and solar panels. X-band and S-band communications are used between the rover and Earth and between the rover and the lander, respectively. A thermal control subsystem consisting of radiator panels, multi-layer insulation (MLI), etc., keeps the rover's payload within acceptable temperatures. The rover is equipped with four-legged crawlers to ensure stability in rough terrain covered with regolith. A 1.5 meter long earth auger will be used to drill and extract regolith to survey water resources.
For the development of the rover system, various tests are ongoing in a variety of environments. Mobility tests are being conducted in a vacuum chamber with a sand container covered with regolith simulant to evaluate the interaction between the rover and the lunar surface. The mobility and navigation subsystem designs will be further validated in an outdoor natural environment. In addition, thermal vacuum tests are conducted using a thermal test model of the rover system to evaluate the thermal characteristics of the various onboard components. This presentation will provide a detailed overview of the rover system in the LUPEX project.