Design of an Alignment and Levelling Kinematic for Exploration Landing Platforms

Abstract

The interest for the exploration of the Lunar surface has re-blossomed recently with the start of programs like NASA’s Artemis program and the European Exploration Envelope Program (E3P) of the ESA. For these missions new Lunar landers are required, which enable delivery of cargo, production equipment, and power generation equipment to support crewed missions. Testing of new exploration technologies or science rovers is conceivable as well. Until now, large ground slopes and obstacles like boulders prevented many parts of the Lunar surface from being possible touchdown locations. By implementing a new technology, able to move the interface of the landing legs primary strut vertically up and down the side of the lander body, it is possible to change the geometry of the lander as a whole. This allows the alignment and levelling of the landing platform after touchdown. Thus expanding the number of potential landing sites and increasing the versatility and accessibility of landers. This thesis compiles the needed mathematical foundations for the geometry, motion, and force calculation and implements them into a tool for computation. The results of this calculation are then used to design a first iteration of an alignment and levelling kinematic to get an understanding of the added mass, power requirement, and viability of such a system.