MAI student designed lunar automatic station with a returnable rocket

Andrey Cherepanov, a student of the Institute No. 6 "Aerospace", decided to explain the phenomenon of ice on the Moon. He designed a lunar automatic station with a returnable rocket. The project has already received positive assessment from experts: he won second place at the XLIX International Youth Scientific Conference "Gagarin Readings".

– I am studying in the direction of "Design, production and operation of rockets and rocket and space complexes". My brothers and my grandfather are engineers, so when I was in the seventh grade, I already knew exactly who I wanted to be, – says Andrey Cherepanov – My project is aimed at studying the soil at the poles of the Moon, where, according to modern data, there is water in the form of ice. However, its source remains unknown, and I would like to solve this issue.

The target equipment of the station, the prototype of which is the Phobos-Grunt mining complex, is designed to extract and analyze regolith at the south pole of the Moon and then send samples to Earth for a more detailed study.

Sampling is planned to be carried out according to the following scheme: with the help of a manipulator, a ground-collecting device descends to the surface of the Moon, samples are captured, after that they are placed into a container with the help of a manipulator, which is immersed in a lander designed to deliver the samples to Earth.

– In order to complete the task successfully, it is necessary to solve the issues of landing the station on the Moon and the takeoff of the rocket, – the student notes. – I analyzed the designs of the existing spacecraft for the study of cosmic bodies. I have identified two schematic diagrams for the projected station. The first is with load-bearing fuel tanks, which are the basis for the entire device. This scheme is used for the Luna-25 spacecraft. The second scheme includes a power frame on which the fuel tanks and propulsion system are suspended and a landing gear. This scheme is used for the Phobos-Grunt device. The strength calculation carried out in the course of work showed that in the second variant the projected station turns out to be easier, which makes it more preferable.

Andrey plans to continue his work on the project and its implementation after graduation.

– I believe that my project will help in the study of the distribution of ice and the search for large amounts of it, which, in turn, will be useful when creating a base on the surface of the Moon, — he says. – I hope that soon cosmonauts will say: "I can see the Earth! It's so beautiful!", while looking out the windows of the lunar base before going to bed.