ALINA-2: Innovations on Planetary Transportation Systems GmbH’s Commercial Lunar Lander

Abstract

Planetary Transportation Systems GmbH (PTS) is developing a second iteration of their lunar lander called Autonomous Landing and Navigation Module (ALINA)-2. With a wet mass of *4 tonnes, ALINA-2 will be capable of transporting 200 kg of commercial payloads from geostationary transfer orbit to the lunar surface. Several key enabling technologies are employed on ALINA-2. These include a 4 kN propulsion system, which provides the necessary thrust for the power descent maneuver (PDM) to the lunar surface and a total Dv of 3, 500 m/s for all maneuvers. The motors can be pulsed to vary the thrust level and improve the controllability of the lander. During the PDM, ALINA-2s guidance, navigation, and control utilizes a combination of radar, laser altimeters, and crater navigation technology to facilitate a soft and accurate landing. Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) is used strategically to lower the weight of ALINA-2s main structure and landing legs, while phase changing materials are employed on units with high heat loads. In addition to hosting a wide variety of commercial payloads, the lander can deploy 2 rovers equipped with long-term evolution (LTE) transceivers. ALINA-2 will use an LTE base station to communicate with the rovers, allowing them to stream high-definition video back to Earth.