Landing Trajectory Generation and Energy Optimization for Unmanned Lunar Mission

Abstract

The moon is recognized as an important destination for space science and exploration. To find a satisfactory answer for the mystery of the universe and to make use of the lunar resources for the welfare of human beings, several space agencies are planning manned and unmanned missions on the moon. As a result, the concept of lunar vehicles has begun with an advanced descent scheme to execute a precise and safe landing on the surface of the moon. On the contrary, the energy budget is an important issue for any space mission. To reduce the cost of a space mission, it is necessary to design the vehicle trajectory based on optimized energy resources. Fuel is the main energy in a space mission. Therefore, a fuel-optimized energy generation technique is focused on this research. The design of an algorithm that generates a real-time trajectory for the descent and landing of a lunar probe is critical to ensuring a successful lunar landing mission. A scheme of dual-step trajectory generation for lunar descent is also investigated in this paper. In the algorithm developing process, the thrust-to-mass ratio is considered as a principle variable. Algorithm design along with mathematical modeling and simulation results are described in detail. In addition, the proposed method for generating reference trajectory profiles is also analyzed for fuel consumption and robustness.