Preliminary Design Review - Ad Lunam Hopper

NASA L’Space Academy Team 21 Ad Lunam:
Mission Concept Design PDR
Abhiishek Singh Muralidhar, Mitchel Medvec, Brooke Fujishima, Ricco Venterea, Seda
Yilmaz, Connie McNulty, Aniketh Devarasetty, Carl Matteson, Ashutosh Sahu, Tyler
Pipp, Phillip Wilkerson
NASA
Mentor: Carol Botros
July 27, 2021

NASA L’Space Academy Team 21 Ad Lunam: Mission Concept Design PDR 0
Section 1: Introduction and Summary 4
1.2 Mission Overview 7

1.2.1 Mission Statement 7
1.2.2 Mission Requirements 7
1.2.3 Mission Success Criteria 8
1.2.4 Concept of Operations (COO) 8
1.2.5 Major Milestones Schedule 10
1.3 Descent Maneuver and Vehicle Design Summary 11

Descent Maneuver 11
Vehicle Design 11
Components of Vehicle 12
1.4 Payload and Science Instrumentation Summary 14
Section 2 15
2.1 Evolution of Mission Experiment Plan 15
2.2 Evolution of Descent Maneuver and Vehicle Design 15
Descent Maneuver 15
Vehicle Design 15
2.3 Evolution of Payload and Science Instrumentation 20
Iteration 1 20
Iteration 2 20
Iteration 3 21
Section 3 22
3.1 Selection, Design, and Verification 22

3.1.1 System Overview 22
3.1.2: Subsystem Overview 25
Primary Struts 26
Outer Shell NX CAD 27
Secondary Inner Rod NX CAD 27
Honeycomb shock absorbers 28
Primary strut assembly NX CAD 29
Secondary Struts 30
Payload Housing 34
Primary Engines 35
Purpose 35
Engine selection 35
Engine performance 36
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Engine parameters 36
Engine assembly & position 37
Secondary Engines 38
Purpose 38
Engine selection 38
Engine performance 39
Engine parameters 39
Engine assembly & position 39
Figure 3.1.2s: Rendered CAD Model of the Secondary Engine Assembly. 40
3.1.3: Dimensioned CAD of Assembly 41
3.1.4: Manufacturing and Integration Plans 43
3.1.5: Verification and Validation Plans 43
Design Verification Testing 43
Material testing 43
Stress Testing & Accelerated Stress Testing 44
Engine testing 44
Design Validation Testing 45
Functional Tests 45
Compliance Testing 46
3.1.6 FMEA and Risk Mitigation 46
3.1.7. Performance Characteristics and Predictions 49
3.1.8: Confidence and Maturity of Design 51
3.2: Recovery/Redundancy System 52
3.3: Payload Integration 54

Power Distribution 54
Payload Placement and Orientation: 55
Section 4 59
4.1 Selection, Design, and Verification 59
4.1.1 System Overview 59
4.1.2 Subsystem Overview 63
4.1.3 Manufacturing Plan 64
4.1.4 Verification and Validation Plan 65
4.1.5 FMEA and Risk Mitigation 68
4.1.6 Performance Characteristics 71
4.2 Science Value 73
4.2.1 Science Payload Objectives 73
4.2.2 Creativity/Originality and Significance 73
4.2.3 Payload Success Criteria 75
4.2.4 Experimental Logic, Approach, and Method of Investigation 75
4.2.5 Testing and Calibration Measurements 76
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4.2.6 Precision of Instrumentation, Repeatability of Measurement, and Recovery System
76
4.2.7 Expected Data and Analysis 77
Section 5 81
5.1 Personnel Safety 81
5.1.1 Safety Officer 81
5.1.2 List of Personnel Hazards 81
5.1.3 Hazard Mitigation 82
5.2 Vehicle/Payload Safety 83
5.2.1 Environmental Hazards 83
5.2.2 Hazard Mitigation 84
Section 6 - Activity Plan 85

6.1 Budget 85
6.2 Schedule 87
6.3 Outreach Summary 88
6.4 Program Management Approach 89
References 90
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Section 1: Introduction and Summary
1.1 Team Introduction
Project Manager: Abhiishek Singh Muralidhar

● University of Illinois at Chicago; Chicago, Illinois
● Majoring in Electrical Engineering
● Graduating May 2022
Abhiishek utilizes his leadership skills acquired from a wide range of projects.
Particularly, his experience within the student organizations: “Society of Automotive
Engineers”, and the “American Institute of Aerospace and Aeronautics”. These
organizations have provided him with vital experience and organizational tactics that
allow him to maintain a positive and hardworking atmosphere.
Deputy Project Manager: Mitchel Medvec

● The University of Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota
● Majoring in Mechanical Engineering
Mitchel applies skills he learned from many groups, projects and teams. These skills
include leadership from student groups and NASA’s L’Space Academy NPWEE, CADD
and coding from student research, and networking skills from his NASA internship last
school year. Mitchel is able to utilize these skills to make sure deadlines are met,
questions of any topic are answered, and deliverables are finished to a high standard.
Lead Engineer/Mechanical Engineer: Brooke Fujishima

● Northwestern University; Evanston, Illinois
● Majoring in Mechanical Engineering with an aerospace concentration
Brooke Fujishima is involved in Northwestern’s student rocket club NUSTARS, has prior
NASA internship experience at Goddard, and has experience using NX, Solidworks,
Matlab, Python, ANSYS, and COMSOL. Her most recent experience involves simulating
airfoils from the Ingenuity helicopter in the Martian atmosphere and modelling the
deformation of the lunar command module in ANSYS.
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Astrophysicist: Ricco Venterea
● Cornell University; Ithaca, New York
● Majoring in Astronomy with an Astrophysics Concentration, Minoring in
Mathematics
Ricco has previous research experience at NASA’s Proposal Writing and Evaluation
Experience Academy, as well as at Carleton College and Brown University. He also has
experience programming in MATLAB, R, and Java. His background in physics and
mathematics makes him well suited for the science team.
Chemist: Seda Yilmaz

● Houston Community College; Houston, Texas
● Majoring in Engineering Science, Minoring in Economics
Seda held an internship and volunteered at different companies, and during these
experiences, she had an opportunity to gain valuable skills such as teamwork, critical
thinking, and app designing. MATLAB, AutoCAD, and Microsoft are her main interests,
and she is bilingual.
Planning Lead/Geologist: Connie McNulty

● Illinois Institute of Technology; Chicago, Illinois
● Majoring in Aerospace Engineering
● Graduating December 2022
Connie has leadership experience and teamwork skills from several academic projects,
including NPWEE. She has had experience in researching materials and geology, as
well as programming in MATLAB and Python.
Electrical Engineer/Scheduling Manager : Aniketh Devarasetty

● The University of Texas at Austin; Austin, Texas
● Majoring in Electrical Engineering
Aniketh has previous experience from various organizations, & projects such IEEE,
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, and FIRST Robotics Championship. Some of
his areas of experience include Autodesk Inventor, PCB Design, ARM assembly
language, C, C++, Python, and Java. His background in Robot Design and team
management make him well suited for his roles in the Engineering and Business teams.
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Budget Analyst: Carl Matteson
● Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Worldwide
● Majoring in Engineering
● Graduating August 2023
Carl is working in aviation as an Induction Examiner, former Heavy Structures

Mechanic, and basic Structures Mechanic. He is a graduate of the Army’s Primary
Leadership Development Course and served as a Non-Commissioned Officer for two
years. He has experience using Siemens NX, programing MATLAB, C#, C++, and
Arduino IDE. His background working in aircraft overhaul programs makes him well
prepared to work with the business team.
Lead Scientist/Aerospace Engineer: Ashutosh Sahu

● Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
● Majoring in Aerospace Engineering
Ashutosh has previous experiences with student organisations including ‘Ames Flyers’,
‘Entrepreneurship Club’, ‘Society of International Engineers’, ‘the Rocket Shop’, and
‘American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’. He has not only been elected as
one of the members of the Student Initiatives Council in Iowa State’s Student
Government, but has also been elected as the board member of the student chapter of
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has experience in coding in
JAVA, designing, and team management which makes him well suited for his role as an
Aerospace Engineer.
Aerospace Engineer: Tyler Pipp

● University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison,WI
● Majoring in Engineering Mechanic Aerospace
Tyler has experience working with teams from previous classes and extracurriculars. He
is excited to learn more about the design process and be a part of the L’Space
academy. He is familiar with Solidworks and MATLAB and considers Math a strength.
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1.2 Mission Overview
1.2.1 Mission Statement

Through this project, NASA will find deposits of water ice in the Permanently Shadowed
Regions at the South Pole region of the Moon. The deposits of near surface water will
be mapped at a scale of a few kilometers in this region and the deposits of water ice in
the upper 1 meter of the lunar regolith at a chosen location at the PSR in the lunar
South Pole will be determined to a 1% accuracy. To do this, the Dynamic Albedo of
Neutrons tool (DAN) will be used to measure the hydrogen in the ground, which can
indicate if there is water present. The discovery of water-ice on the moon will help
replenish resources for future missions, by using the water-ice that is present on the
moon and converting it to O2 and H2 for fuel and life support. Therefore, this mission will
pave the way for NASA’s plans to achieve a sustainable presence on the moon by
discovering in-situ resources in the lunar regolith.
1.2.2 Mission Requirements

The proposed Hopper design will have a mass constraint of 180 kilograms which
includes all the instrumentation and subsystems involved in the design. The Hopper will
be no larger than 60.1 centimeters in length, 71.1 centimeters in width, and 96.5
centimeters in height. The proposed budget for this project will be capped at $200
million, including personnel costs. It needs to begin 10 km above the surface of the
moon, but it can start anywhere along a circular polar orbit.
The Hopper must be able to communicate with the primary mission orbiter and transmit
relevant payload data and store that data in times of communication lags. The Hopper
must be able to operate at temperatures ranging from 120 ℃ to -232 ℃. The Hopper
must be able to operate autonomously at times of communication blackout from Earth.
The Hopper must be able to calculate and decide the optimal landing spot for
subsequent hops using the various payload instruments on the body. The Hopper must
be able to operate, communicate with, and shut off any and all of the payload
instruments.
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1.2.3 Mission Success Criteria
For the mission to be successful, the Hopper must determine the abundance of water
ice in the top 1 m of regolith in the Permanently shadowed regions on the moon, within
1% accuracy, or at spatial sampling of 100 m. The Hopper must use the Dynamic
Albedo of Neutrons instrument to determine the hydrogen concentration in the lunar
regolith, in turn determining the concentration of water-ice.
The Hopper must then communicate with and transmit the gathered data to the primary
mission orbiter, which has an eccentric orbit of 100 km above the lunar surface. The
Primary Mission Orbiter then relays the Hopper’s data back to Earth for further analysis.
By gathering the relevant data for this mission, potential fuel and water resources will be
discovered on the moon, enabling longer term missions.
1.2.4 Concept of Operations (COO)
Figure 1.2.4a: Concept of Operation.
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The hopper and the orbiter will be launched together from the Earth in August 2023.
After the separation of stages, the orbiter and Hopper travel toward and join the lunar
orbit at about 100 km from the lunar surface. The Hopper then disconnects from the
orbiter and descends and lands on the surface of the moon. The orbiter will remain a
distance of at most 100 km, orbiting about the moon in a circular path. The hopper will
"hop" across the terrain of the moon, with DAN detecting potential spots for water.
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1.2.5 Major Milestones Schedule
Major Milestones Completed by:
Phase B 07/26/2021
Preliminary Design Review 07/26/2021
Phase C 08/01/2022
Critical Design Review 03/01/2022
Production Readiness Review 06/01/2022
Systems Integration Review 07/15/2022
Safety Review 08/01/2022
Phase D 08/01/2023
Operational Readiness Review 12/15/2023
Mission Readiness Review 03/01/2023
Test Readiness Review 05/01/2023
Launch 08/01/2023
Phase E 10/15/2023
Post-Launch Assessment
Review 09/01/2023
Critical Events Readiness
Review 10/01/2023
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1.3 Descent Maneuver and Vehicle Design
Summary
Descent Maneuver
Mission starts at an altitude of 10km above the lunar surface with negligible forward
velocity. This surface mission can begin at any point along a circular polar orbit. The
mass and size of the hopper are to be researched but for preliminary design the
following numbers are based on mission constraints (180kg, 60.1 cm x 71.1 cm x 96.5
cm). Entry angle is also to be researched since landing destination is not finalized.
Since the initial landing requirements are distinct from subsequent landing after surface
hops, we must separate them into two phases. The first phase will utilize a dedicated
descent system that will detach from the hopper. Due to the reduced mass and the
usage of a secondary landing system, the second phase will be optimized for energy
efficiency for any hops following the initial descent. The hopper will descend to the
surface using the moon’s gravity until an altitude of 5 km with a final velocity of 127.3
m/s at which the first phase begins. A sustained burn begins with a deceleration of
1.617 m/s2 for approximately 75.6 seconds. Velocity just before touchdown will be 5 m/s
to eliminate any possible damage to the hopper. Thrusters used in the first phase will be
ejected after touchdown to reduce mass and increase fuel efficiency.
Vehicle Design
The vehicle chosen for the design to navigate the surface of the Moon is a hopper. The
hopper vehicle was chosen for the following reasons:
● Can navigate in and out of rough terrain such as lunar craters of permanently
shadowed areas on the southern pole of the Moon via ballistic hops and hover
hops. Ballistic hops follow a ballistic trajectory toward the desired destination.
Hover hops are controlled hops where the hopper ascends and maintains a
constant altitude as it travels toward its destination.
● The hopper was chosen over the rover because it can traverse over hazardous
terrain, explore cliffs and craters. A roving vehicle would have trouble traversing
over steep terrain.
● Offers the proximity for sensor measurements while also providing a birds-eye
view of the surface at a specified altitude. This duality allows for different types of
sensors to verify the amount of ice at the Southern pole of the Moon.
Multi-faceted verification will further the accuracy of our mission.
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● Offers the transportation of payloads at different sites on the lunar surface.
Hoppers have the ability to deploy payloads at different sites along the lunar
surface. This technology may prove to be useful as we further design our mission
and it will also reduce the cost of fuel due to shedding mass.
● Reusability of hoppers saves or delays purchasing and disposal costs.
Additionally, their reusability prevents space debris as well as opportunities of
using the vehicle in the future.
● Advantageous lower cost: half of the usual spacecraft price.
Figure 1.3a: Hopper exploration using controlled descent

(Cohanim, 2013).
While literature exists on the engineering of lunar hoppers, this design is a relatively
new technology and has not had in-situ testing. However the numerous capabilities and
opportunities of the hopper in finding ice in permanently shadowed areas outweigh the
abilities of previous lunar vehicles.
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Components of Vehicle
The components and design of the hopper will be optimized to achieve a low mass in
order to conserve fuel, engines to control maneuvering and descent for both ballistic
and hover hops, the payload designed to measure ice, and durable landing legs.
Figure 1.3b: Schematic of a hopper design (Elkins, Daogaru, Dufresne, Studebaker, 2016).
A hopper vehicle includes the payload, payload housing, primary struts, secondary
struts, navigation system, fuel, primary thrusters, secondary thrusters, footpads, hinges,
and connecting bolts. These components will be discussed in depth in section 3.
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1.4 Payload and Science Instrumentation
Summary
● DAN which stands for Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons is a neutron spectrometer

responsible for bombarding neutrons on a planetary surface. Water molecules
absorb more neutrons than other molecules in any celestial body. Less neutron
reflection is a sign of the presence of water molecules.
● RADOM is a very small device that will easily fit anywhere which is meant for
additional data collection regarding the ionisation radiation levels on the lunar
surface. RADOM needs to be stored outside so that it can measure the amount
of radiation without the interference of any other element.
● NIRVSS which stands for Near Infrared Volatile Spectrometer Subsystem
analyzes infrared light in the electromagnetic spectrum. Hydrogen molecules
absorb and reflect certain wavelengths of infrared light which will help the
spacecraft in detecting water ON the lunar surface.
● LiDar is an Infrared-Spectrometer which will be used in an event of the failure or
malfunction of NIRVSS which will be used to detect frozen water ON the lunar
regolith. It works on the same principle of NIRVSS absorbing infrared light
emitted by the hydrogen atoms.
● Electra Lite will be used to transmit radio waves which will be used to establish a
connection between the earth and the hopper with the orbiter acting as an
intermediary.
● IMU is an equipment that would be used to measure the altitude of the spacecraft
above a fixed surface.
● LOLA is an equipment that will be used to provide stability to the spacecraft
through its data on the orientation of the same. The equipment will be connected
with the computer which is going to be RAD 750 that was designed by IBM.
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Section 2
2.1 Evolution of Mission Experiment Plan
The science objective of the mission never changed, however, the idea behind how to
achieve these objectives did. At first, the use of an orbiter vehicle to detect water ice
was contemplated, but it was decided to take a more hands on approach, using a
vehicle on the surface. This was because the team’s research determined that the
surface mission could provide better accuracy and efficiency. After deciding which
vehicle to use, the team decided to use DAN to detect water. As the project progressed,
it was agreed that it would be good to have an alternative method to detect water, in
addition to DAN. NIRVSS can give more information about the composition of the soil
than just whether or not water is present, it can tell if there are volatiles, such as
mercury, present.
Once the hopper was chosen as the vehicle, the number of hops it would make had to
be determined. First, the team picked seven hops, figuring that would work with the
amount of fuel available. After a lot more research, confidence in the hopper’s abilities
dropped a bit and this was changed to three hops. Even more research, more
calculations, and more models restored the team’s faith in the hopper and it was
determined that it will make six hops.
2.2 Evolution of Descent Maneuver and Vehicle

Design
Descent Maneuver
The descent maneuvers considered were parachutes that would deploy and decelerate
the vehicle, powered deceleration using thrusters secured to the landing vehicle, and a
skycrane that was similar to the one used in the Perseverance mission. Parachutes
would not work due to no lunar atmosphere and building something like the skycrane
would not be within the given mission constraints due to its large size and mass.
Thrusters would limit the forces applied to the vehicle and could be actively controlled
through the vehicle’s payload.
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Vehicle Design
The three design vehicles considered were a rover, orbiter, and hopper. The following
sections give the preliminary research into each type of vehicle and their advantages
and drawbacks.
Figure 2.2a displays the Apollo Lunar Roving

Vehicle that was electric and driven by astronauts.
A roving vehicle was considered because of its
reusability, autonomous and human control, and
transportation across the lunar surface. In the
scope of this project, it was required for a roving
vehicle to be charged by solar energy or other
means, have sufficient energy to travel to different
sites to measure levels of water ice, and be stable
on the lunar surface and going down steep inclines
to access permanently dark regions.
Figure 2.2a: Apollo Lunar Roving

Vehicle (NASA).
Treads shown in Figure 2.2b were considered to

increase traction between the vehicle and the
lunar surface. Treads that fully contained the lunar
vehicle could allow the payload to be oriented in
any direction and would solve the issue of toppling
when traversing into lunar craters.
Figure 2.2b: Treads (Robot Store HK, 2016).
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An orbiter was considered because it would not need to endure the forces from a
descent maneuver, it would have ample access to solar energy, and it would need not
worry about the lunar environment (dust kickback, temperature variations). A main
concern for this type of vehicle was the instrumentation precision and accuracy needed
for computing the abundance of water ice on the lunar surface. After a scientific
investigation into available instruments, it was found they lacked the needed resolution
to successfully complete the mission. Additionally, while SHARAD temporarily seemed
like a good fit, its dimensions were outside of the geometric constraints of the project
and the resolution was not optimal.
A hopper was the third vehicle type considered because it could travel in and out of
permanently shadowed regions using thrusters without slipping on the low friction lunar
surface. NASA’s Surveyor missions were a series of seven robotic lunar soft landings
that served as a starting point for the team’s research (Figure 2.2c).
Figure 2.2c: NASA Surveyor lander.
NASA’s Surveyor 1 was the first lunar soft-lander. It gathered data about the lunar
surface needed for Apollo Moon landings and landed on the Ocean of Storms (western
edge near side of Moon). Strain gauges on each leg shock absorber recorded peak
axial forces. The vehicle landed at 3 m/s.
While a significant part of a hopping vehicle was going to be an investigation into a

steady fuel source and engines that was within the mission’s constraints, it seemed like
a good fit to the team’s project because it is typically a smaller sized vehicle that would
fall within the geometric constraints, its capabilities aligned with gathering data from
multiple sites up to 5000 meters away, and it could descend to the lunar surface using
its thrusters. Significant drawbacks included optimized engines and fuel source, access
to solar energy, kickback of lunar dust during ascent and descent, and its relatively
novel use of technology.
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Figure 2.2d: Comparison of Planetary Exploration Systems (Cohanim, 2013).
Figure 2.2d displays different vehicle types and their advantages and drawbacks. First,
airships and airplanes can be neglected due to the moon’s missing atmosphere.
Cohanim highlights the hopper vehicle’s significant advantages over its drawbacks in
comparison to other vehicle types. It has a high level of versatility and can perform
multiple in-situ missions over rough terrain. While it has never been demonstrated on a
lunar surface, many ongoing scientific studies were conducted by students and
scientists alike that prove a hopping vehicle promising in the coming years. Additionally,
Cohanim makes an exciting connection to a hopper and its unique capabilities to
explore craters that “contain exposed regolith or water ice in permanently shadowed
areas.” Furthermore, they highlight the ability of hoppers to “fly into, explore, and fly
back out of craters,” which enable the exploration of these regions.
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Figure 2.2e: Versatility of Hopper Vehicles (Michel, 2010).
Similarly, Figure 2.2e shows the versatility of a rocket hopper vehicle when compared to
other extraterrestrial vehicles. It scores the highest average of 4.2 when compared to all
other types of vehicles in relation to their range, system complexity, technological
maturity, energy requirement, speed, rough terrain suitability, in-traverse exploration,
requirement of high gravity, atmospheric requirement, and requirement of liquid or ice.
Choosing a hopper vehicle would also allow a thruster descent maneuver by utilizing
the attached thrusters on the vehicle therefore allowing a secure and safe landing of the
vehicle. The team decided on a hopper vehicle due to its clear advantages in scientific
exploration and its descent maneuver capabilities.
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2.3 Evolution of Payload and Science
Instrumentation
Iteration 1
The first ideas for the payload included DAN, RADOM, NIRVSS, and the Terrain
Mapping Camera. In addition to that, the spacecraft was designed to collect lunar ice
with a robotic arm, and then split it inside the hopper to create fuel for the hops but was
rejected due to an exponential increase in the moving parts which had a high failure
rate. In addition to that, SHARAD was initially chosen for detecting water underneath
the lunar surface as a redundancy system but was dropped because it was exceeding
the mission’s constraints.
When it comes to power, the team decided to obtain energy for powering the hopper’s
instruments from MMRTGs which stands for Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric
Generator. MMRTG was chosen because it could keep the instruments alive for years
without any recharge or refuelling. But the plan was eventually dropped for the
MMRTGs because of budget overruns and also because the equipment was exceeding
dimensional constraints that was given to us.
Iteration 2
After finalizing instruments, the science team was tasked with determining the
orientation of the instruments in the payload housing. Based on the constraints provided
by the engineering team, the only feasible way to place all the instruments was to stack
them on top of each other. After talking to the engineering team, this was considered an
unideal placement for the instruments (as they could possibly interfere with each other,
increase heating between instruments, and become damaged during descent and aerial
movements). After looking at the constraints for the proposed mission, it was decided by
the science team to drop the TMC due to its large size and mass, as well as finding
better alternatives for lunar mapping. Such an alternative included the Star Camera,
which can determine the position of the hopper based on the stars on the lunar celestial
sphere. The science team also found LiDAR and LOLA, which looked like viable
candidates for the navigation system.
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Figure 2.3a : Rendered CAD Model for the TMC which was then dropped.
The hopper was then designed to carry solid rocket propellant which was Ammonium
Perchlorate capsules for the hops. Solid rocket propellant was considered to be a
candidate because of its low density and high calorific value. However, the plans of
carrying Ammonium Perchlorate capsules was dropped because the exothermic
reaction cannot be controlled. In addition to that, all the fuel capsules can completely
explode if there was a void in the metal divisions between the two capsules because the
mass flow rate through the thrusters remains the same resulting in the rest of the mass
blowing up the asset.
Iteration 3
After further investigation, the science team decided to drop the Star Camera. LiDAR
and LOLA were deemed enough for navigation, so having Star Camera would be an
unnecessary second redundant system. Dropping Star Camera saved power as well as
computing time for the microprocessor. The payload housing dimensions were also
increased to hold all finalized instruments.
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Section 3
3.1 Selection, Design, and Verification
3.1.1 System Overview

The goal of this mission is to design a vehicle to operate on the lunar surface to verify
the abundance of water ice in Permanently Shadowed Regions at the Moon’s South
Pole. The water ice will be determined in the top 1 meter of the regolith within a 1%
accuracy. A hopper vehicle design was chosen for this mission because of its versatility
and ongoing investigations into its capabilities within the scientific community. While a
lunar hopper has not had in-situ testing, many technological advancements such as
small instruments, high strength-low density materials, and computational models have
propelled this type of vehicle forward to be a strong competitor against classic vehicles
for lunar traverses. The following sections will explore why a hopper vehicle was chosen
and will propose and examine each of its components, design, materials,
manufacturing, and assembly.
Upon the completion of preliminary research, many types of vehicles were considered
such as a lunar orbiter and rover. The lunar orbiter was not chosen due to the lack of
precision the instruments onboard would have given the geometric constraints of the
mission. While the rover initially seemed promising, its design had some concerns. The
primary concern was the lack of friction between the rover treads and the lunar surface
due to the moon’s low gravity. The mission requires measuring the abundance of
water-ice in largely sloped permanently shadowed regions and there was a concern that
the rover would not be able to maintain its stability while performing these treks. The
hopper vehicle is able to bypass these concerns because it can perform in-situ testing
by flying in and out of the moon’s craters using thrusters.
The hopper vehicle design was chosen for the following reasons:
● They have the highest versatility when compared to other vehicles
● Can hop in, collect data, hop out to communicate gathered data, recharge
batteries using solar array, enter back into warmer environment to warm up
components
● Rovers do not have enough traction for lunar surface to go in and out of craters
● Hoppers do not have to worry about finding a path into and out of craters that
need low slope angles
● Low level traverses can be used for data collection: spectrometers, surface
images, maps in a short amount of time
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Figure 3.1.1a: Generic hopper structure (Cohanim, 2013).
The overall components of a general hopper vehicle are 1) attitude control system
(angle of vehicle), 2) propellant delivery system, 3) structure (landing legs, payload
compartment, etc.), 4) software and electronics, 5) communications, 6) independent
pilot trainer.
After the type of vehicle was chosen, the design of the components were decided. The
following decision matrix was used to analyze each component of the hopper and
decide which component was best suited for the mission. Mass, strength, stability,
machinability, and cost were the criteria used to determine the preliminary design of the
vehicle.
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Table 3.1.1a: Decisions Matrix
1 - best option, 3 - does not meet criterion

Leg design Lightweight Strength Stability Machinability Cost
3 legs 1 2 2 1 1
4 legs 2 1 1 1 2
Cantilever 1 1 2 2 1
secondary strut
Tripod 2 1 2 1 2
secondary strut
Aluminum 2 2 2 1 1
Carbon Fiber 1 1 2 2 2
Steel 3 1 2 2 2
The materials were given their score based on their properties displayed in Table
3.1.1b.
Table 3.1.1b: Material properties (Materials Science Articles, n.d.)

Material Tensile Compressive Density Cost
Strength Strength
Aluminum 75-360 MPa 30-280 MPa 2,710 kg/m3 $2.43/kg
Carbon Fiber 600 MPa 570 MPa 1,750 kg/m3 $140/kg
Steel 420 MPa 250 MPa 7,700 kg/m3 $2.97/kg
Four legs were chosen due to greater stability versus three legs, which would
significantly help a successful touchdown and subsequent hops. Cantilever secondary
struts were chosen to minimize the amount of material needed and reduce the hopper’s
mass. Weixiong argues that cantilever struts provide optimal stability given particular
parameters (Weixiong, 2017). Aluminum was chosen for the hopper body because of its
strength to density ratio. Additionally, carbon fiber was strongly considered for the struts,
however after heat analysis, aluminum was chosen as a preliminary material and more
testing needs to be done to evaluate its ability to withstand excess heat from the
engines.
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3.1.2: Subsystem Overview
The hopper vehicle is composed of the following components:
● Primary struts: outer shell, secondary inner rod, crushable aluminum honeycomb,
ball joint, footpad, connection bolts
● Secondary struts: outer shell, secondary inner rod, crushable aluminum
honeycomb, connection bolts
● Payload housing: outer structure, connection bolts
● Primary & secondary engines
The following section will detail the design of each of these components and provide
preliminary dimensions using Siemens’ NX CAD software.
Figure 3.1.2: Assembly of hopper vehicle.
25
Primary Struts
The primary struts are the main structures that provide support and stability to the
payload during operation. The outer diameter of the primary struts are 20 mm and the
inner diameter is 15 mm. The components of the primary struts include: 1) outer shell,
2) secondary inner rod, 3) crushable aluminum honeycomb cartridge, 4) ball joint, 5)
bored fillets, 6) bolt fasteners 7) footpad.
Table 3.1.2a: Components of primary struts & justification

Component Justification
Outer shell ● Provides support

● Houses each component
● Constrains movement of secondary inner rod
outside of outer shell while allowing it to move
longitudinally to compress aluminum honeycomb
Secondary inner ● Attaches to ball joint and footpads

rod ● Contains a dull cone end to compress the aluminum
honeycomb cartridge
● Thicker section constrains movement
Crushable ● Dissipates energy from descent & landing by

aluminum deforming
● Mitigates stresses in the outer shell and secondary
honeycomb
inner rod
● Lightweight
Ball joint ● Allows rotational movement between the footpads

and secondary inner rod
Footpad ● Rotates to provide stability to the vehicle body

● Changes orientation in response to rough lunar
terrain to balance vehicle body
Bored fillets ● Provides angular connection to the secondary struts

while simultaneously constraining secondary strut
motion
● Higher strength compared to hinges
Bolt Fasteners ● Secures instruments to the payload housing and

decreases the risk of tension, shear, and bending
● Eliminates any risks of losing parts of the spacecraft
upon descent and landing
26
Outer Shell NX CAD
The outer shell of the primary strut serves as the housing for the crushable aluminum
honeycomb, secondary shaft connected to the ball joint and footpad, as well as a mount
for the secondary struts and the attachment connection to the payload housing. The
diameter of the primary strut outer shell is 20 mm, the length of the honeycomb material
is 190 mm, and the total length of the outer shell is 315.8 mm.
Figures 3.1.2a & 3.1.2b: Outer shell CAD.
In Figures 3.1.2a & 3.1.2b, the angled mount is shown on either side of the diameter of
the shaft. These mounts have holes so the secondary struts can attach on either side to
provide further support to the structure. The angle of the chamfer is about 45 degrees to
allow equal support in both the horizontal and vertical directions.
Secondary Inner Rod NX CAD
Figure 3.1.2c: Secondary inner rod.
27
Honeycomb shock absorbers
A soft vehicle landing is a challenging problem and is worsened by the uncertainty of
landing position and the stability of the landing position. A soft landing for the hopper
vehicle is critical to the success of the mission to protect the instrumentation and
measuring devices. The struts must both provide sufficient energy absorption and
prevent the hopper from toppling. Aluminum honeycomb is frequently chosen because
of its simplicity and reliability [Liu, Song, Wang]. It is made out of 3003 or 5052
aluminum alloy foil. The honeycomb has a high strength, durability, lightweight, and a
low cost. Liu, Song, and Wang utilize a nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-II
(NSGA-II) to optimize the shock absorber’s parameters.
Figure 3.1.2d: Crushable aluminum honeycomb (DMC Figure 3.1.2e: Primary strut with crushable aluminum
Honeycomb Core, n.d.). honeycomb (Yuanyuan Liu, Shunguang Song, and
Chunjie Wang, 2017).
In Figure 3.1.2e, the primary struts have the ability to compress the honeycomb material
to dissipate the energy while the secondary struts have the ability to attenuate both
tensile and compressive forces. Struts are attached to the body with a universal joint
with two degrees of freedom. A translational joint is used to enable movement between
the inner and outer cylinders in each strut. The secondary struts are attached to the
primary struts with a ball joint that allows three rotational degrees of freedom.
Liu, Song, and Wang use the following requirements to determine the success of the
struts: 1) no vehicle toppling occurs, 2) no excessive stroke of shock absorbers occurs.
For the design of the hopper, the honeycomb material was maximized in order to
provide sufficient absorption of forces and to reduce the overall mass of the hopper.
28
Primary strut assembly NX CAD
Figures 3.1.2 f, g, &h: Primary Strut Assembly.
29
Figure 3.1.2i: Primary strut assembly dimensions.
Secondary Struts
Secondary struts were chosen to provide stability to the hopper vehicle and redundancy.
The secondary struts help distribute the loads and provide support to the primary struts.
Similar to the primary struts, they have crushable aluminum honeycomb that
compresses when the hopper is on uneven terrain. This design prevents strut failure
and maintains the stability of the payload.
The Secondary struts assist the primary struts in carrying the payload housing safely.
The two secondary struts will be connected to the bottom surface of the payload
housing and either side of the primary strut. Overall, the triple strut design will resemble
the shape of an inverted tripod.The primary strut and its corresponding secondary struts
will be connected through pin joints.
30
Figure 3.1.2j: Rendered CAD Model of Secondary Strut.
Figure 3.1.2k: Dimensioned CAD Drawing of Secondary Strut.
31
Footpads
The footpad is an important part of the mechanism for tip-over prevention of hoppers
because it is the only mechanical part that contacts the terrain surface during landing.
Additionally, footpads aid in the distribution of the hopper’s weight over the penetrable
lunar surface. This distribution will help in decreasing surface penetration of the primary
struts. The force that acts on the footpad depends on its shape, and so its design is
important in preventing overturning of the lander. A hemispherical shape for the footpad
was chosen because of its minimal contact on the lunar surface and its ease of rotation
with the ball joint. A reduction of harsh edges (a short cylinder, for example) will reduce
the probability of penetrating the lunar surface and the kickback of dust during landing.
At the time of impact, the footpad should be able to absorb shock partially and transmit
the rest to the primary leg which is fitted with aluminum honeycomb shock absorbers.
The footpad is designed as shown in figure 3.1.2i, such that it absorbs lateral forces and
minimizes the vibration created by the hopper while doing so. It consists of layers of
crushable honeycomb as shown in 3.1.2d. The footpad is composed of AL7075 in a
dish shape and the core was made of honeycomb type 2024 and 5052. A layer of ultra
high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) is attached to the base plate, reducing
vibrations due to the high damping factor of polyethylene. The footpad is attached to the
leg using a ball joint. A ball joint connector was chosen because it has three degrees of
rotational freedom which allows it to rotate and orient the hopper in response to the
rough lunar terrain. Moving in this way increases the stability of the hopper and reduces
the probability of toppling.
Material Type Modulus Density Tensile Failure

(GPa) p(kg/m3) Strength Strain (%)
(MPa)
UHMW-PE Laminate E1 = 25.5 900 σ1 = 860 ε1 = 8

E2 = 25.5 σ2 = 860 ε2 = 8
E3 = 3.4
Table 3.1.2b : Material Data for the Footpad
32
Figure 3.1.2l.: Dimensioned CAD Drawing of Footpads.
Figure 3.1.2m: Rendered CAD Model of Footpads.
33
Payload Housing
The Payload Housing is the central structure of the Hopper Design that will provide
support and housing to the scientific payload instruments and other mission-critical
devices. In the shape of a rectangular-prism, the housing will house several systems on
the inside, such as the fuel tanks & central computers. The housing will also support
various science instruments on the outside, such as the DAN, LiDAR, and the Star
Camera, either through hinged attachments or holes in the housing. The holes in the
housing will be completely sealed by the instruments, therefore the payload housing
and instruments inside are at no risk due to this measure. The housing will be made out
of the Aluminum 7075 alloy to provide maximum support, strength, and sturdiness,
while still being lightweight. Additionally, this alloy was chosen because of its capacity to
withstand the extreme conditions and temperatures in space and on the moon. The
Aluminum alloy will provide insulation and keep the temperature sensitive instruments
and devices at their optimal temperatures.
The Payload housing is 385mm long, 480.3 mm wide, and 325mm high, in order
maximize the most amount of space for the housing, while leaving enough space on the
outside to fit all the necessary instruments and still stay under the volumetric
constraints. The Payload housing features four chamfered edges to provide surface for
pin joints to connect to the primary strut.
The inside of the Payload Housing will contain Aerogel Reinforced Composites and a
mylar material sheet to insulate the instruments from the extreme high and low
temperatures experienced in space and on the lunar surface.
34
Figures 3.1.2n,o: Corner Views of the Rendered Payload Housing CAD Model (with opening for payload
instruments).
35
Figure 3.1.2p: Dimension CAD Model of Payload Housing.
Primary Engines
Purpose
The primary thrusters will be primarily used for initial descent and gaining altitude for
subsequent hops. To meet the specifications of our mission, mono-propellant engines
are best in slot.
Engine selection
Four MR-107T thrusters are placed on the bottom of the hopper in the shape of a
square providing equal thrust. These thrusters were chosen due to their low relative
mass and the amount of thrust they provide. With a thrust to weight ratio of 3:1, this
thruster can provide enough power for a long duration mission. It is also small enough
to fit on the spacecraft four times without going outside of the volumetric constraints.
36
Engine performance
Specific Impulse 222-225 sec (Ibf-sec/Ibm)
Total Impulse 162,360 N-sec (36,500 Ibf-sec)
Total Pulses 36,500
Min Impulse Bit 0.015 N-sec @ 5.9 & 16ms ON
Steady State Firing 100 sec @ 125 N (28 Ibf)

Table 3.1.2c: Primary Engine Performance Data
Engine parameters
MR-107T
Mass 1.01 kg
Propellant Hydrazine
Thrust 54-125 N
Mass Flow Rate 22.7 - 55.8 g/sec

Table 3.1.2d: Primary Engine Parameter Data
37
Engine assembly & position
The height of clearance was determined from the equation height = diameter of nozzle/2
which gave us 33mm for the minimum height of engine clearance.
Figure 3.1.2q: equation used to calculate the min height of engine clearance.
38
Figure 3.1.2r: Rendered CAD of the Primary Engines.
Secondary Engines
Purpose
The secondary thrusters will be used to provide precise maneuverability and mid-air
stability. The thrust of each secondary thruster will vary throughout the mission as it will
use information collected from the gyroscope to adjust orientation throughout hops.
Engine selection
Eight secondary thrusters are placed on the bottom of the hopper in equally spaced in a
way that allows the hopper to be balanced in case of engine failure. The MR-103D was
chosen due to its extremely low weight and since it provides just enough thrust for the
precise maneuverability. It shares the same fuel type as the primary thrusters,
hydrazine, therefore reducing excess fuel mass.
39
Engine performance
MR-103D
Mass 0.33 kg
Thrust 0.22 - 1.02 N

Table 3.1.2e: Primary Engine Performance Data
Engine parameters
MR-103D
Mass 1.01 kg
Thrust 54-125 N

Table 3.1.2f: Primary Engine Performance Data
Engine assembly & position

The secondary engines are positioned inside the bottom face of the payload housing; two
engines will be placed in each corner. The long tube extruding from the back of the engines are
all faced towards the inside of the payload housing for easy fuel access. A tube will extend from
the fuel tank to each secondary engine to transport hydrazine.
40
Figure 3.1.2s: Rendered CAD Model of the Secondary Engine Assembly.
41
3.1.3: Dimensioned CAD of Assembly
Figure 3.1.3a: CAD Part list of Spacecraft Assembly.
42
Figures 3.1.3b & 3.1.3c: Corner Views of the Rendered CAD Model of the Final Hopper Spacecraft
Assembly.
43
3.1.4: Manufacturing and Integration Plans
The Timeline for Manufacturing will be around 1.5 years, with the majority of the
manufacturing taking place in Year 2 of this project, that is from September 2021 to
September 2022. The Aluminum 7075 alloy will be used for the payload housing and all
the struts. After purchasing the required amount of Aluminum, manufacturing will begin
in late 2021, and the struts will be manufactured first so that they can undergo heavy
testing, before finalizing the material.
The manufacturing will take place in a NASA facility, as the primary constructions
(housing and struts) do not need to be outsourced. A team of 12 labourers and 3
supervisors are required, who will work 40 hours a week.
Once the Payload Housing is manufactured, all other subsystems (thrusters, payload
instruments, electronics, etc.) will be added individually, after each individual subsystem
is thoroughly tested. The larger and more important subsystems will be added first, such
as the thrusters, in order to properly check and test their fittings, and properly test the
subsystems while in their designated placement location and orientation.
Once fittings and location placements are tested and re-approved, the subsystems will
be integrated with each other through power and communication bus lines, and then
tested for proper performance and communication.
3.1.5: Verification and Validation Plans

Design Verification Testing
Material testing
Carbon fiber is the optimal material for the landing legs, however it needs to withstand
the variation in temperatures from -247 degrees C up to the temperature that the
engines expel without sacrificing their strength. Additionally, while aluminum is generally
used in the aerospace industry, the material components unique to the hopper vehicle
should be tested in addition to the carbon fiber matrix. The following thermal testing
methods are proposed:
● Preliminary Finite Element Analysis in ANSYS or COMSOL to evaluate the

structures in a range of temperatures
● Elevated temperature mechanical testing: use elevated and sub-ambient
temperatures to test the material’s strength, flexibility, and physical properties
● Thermal shock testing: subject material components to extreme temperatures
and predict how they will react to engine proximity and sub-zero temperatures
44
● Thermal vacuum testing: test material components for qualification in space
environment by eliminating air and pressure
Stress Testing & Accelerated Stress Testing
The modes of failure of the hopper vehicle need to be examined and predicted to
ensure a sufficient factor of safety. Additionally, the stress concentration points, analysis
of mathematical model accuracy, specifications, and stability of each component need
to be tested to ensure no failure occurs in a maximum force environment. Accelerated
stress testing will determine the product’s robustness and design/manufacturing flaws
(StackPath, n.d.). The following stress testing methods are proposed:
● Multi-axis vibration: cyclical stress, endurance limit, miscellaneous factor,

temperature factor, reliability factor, size factor, surface finish factor,
stress-concentration factor
Figure 3.1.5a: Design factors and dependent endurance limit (Jane Wang, 2020).
● Temperature cycling
The results from these tests will test product design, suppliers, manufacturing
techniques.
Engine testing
The primary engines will undergo a few tests to eliminate any risks and failures that may
happen upon descent and between hops. One important factor to test is how the heat
generated from the engines will affect different components of the spacecraft. Testing
this will eliminate the risk of any deformities caused by thermal stresses.
45
Stability testing is also important to make sure the spacecraft will stay upright during the
mission. This will test the secondary engines to make sure the provide enough thrust to
move the spacecraft to the right position before landings
Vibration testing caused by the engines is also important to make sure the instruments
will not be severely affected or damaged. If the instruments are dampened upon
descents and landings, then a polyethylene dampening system will be introduced to
better protect the instruments.
A final test will be carried out to make sure the instruments will not be at risk to be
damaged from any radiation.
Design Validation Testing

When Validating a design it is important to identify a plan of approach for how validation
testing/evaluation will be performed to ensure customer/sponsor satisfaction.
Figure3.1.5b : Design Validation Matrix.
Validation Testing is done once the end design is finished and it is testing the
components to make sure that it will perform as expected when placed into the intended
environment.
Functional Tests
This type of testing will test how the design functions and if it reacts like it is supposed
to. These functions are tested by feeding the system an input and examining the output.
46
Examples of this would be testing the landing legs to see if they deploy and retract
correctly. Another could be testing each thruster to see how they perform with particular
inputs. Does each thruster output the correct amount of thrust?
Types of functional tests

● Smoke Testing
These tests determine whether the main functions actually work. It also
determines if the product is testable.
● Sanity Testing
This is a basic test to quickly evaluate whether a claim or the result of a
calculation can possibly be true.
● Regression Testing
This is re-running of functional and non functional tests to ensure that the product
still performs after a change.
Compliance Testing
This type of testing makes sure the end product complies with the mission requirements
In this case, will the hopper “hop” properly? Will it be able to communicate properly with
the orbiter?
Will it be able to determine the abundance of water ice in the top 1 m of regolith within
1% accuracy, or at spatial sampling of 100 m? All these things will be tested either
physically or logically.
3.1.6 FMEA and Risk Mitigation

The hopper is designed in such a way that it can handle high vibrations, and extreme
temperatures but for the success of the mission more factors need to be taken into
account. The hopper will be repeatedly moving from one crater to the other to collect
data. Engine failure during takeoff can lead to the loss of power which will make it
impossible for the hopper to takeoff and maintain altitude. The same scenario of engine
failure can be anticipated during the hopper’s descent which will destroy the hopper’s
ability to decelerate to 1 meters/s resulting in the total loss of the asset.
The hopper has a redundant power supply with Lithium-ion batteries being the primary
source of energy with a backup energy storage of supercapacitors. Instrument that is
responsible for the study of the water on the lunar regolith is backed by another
instrument capable of doing the same job in an event of failure. Additionally, the asset
will be insulated by Aspen’s Aerogel sheets which can be torn apart due to their collision
47
with the lunar rocks resulting in the temperature imbalance resulting in instrument
malfunction.
If the vibration threshold exceeds due to late firing of the thrusters, or due to last minute
course corrections then that might cause leakage in the fuel tank disabling the hopper’s
ability to perform experiments as the fuel that is being stored will interfere with the other
instruments functioning and the thrusters will not be having access to the required
amount of fuel for do the operation. The hopper is also likely to drift away from its
original predefined path set by the Principal Investigator smashing itself onto a lunar
crater’s slope.
Figure 3.1.6a: FMEA Chart detailing risk and mitigation techniques for various subsystems.
Key for FMEA Chart & Risk Mitigation Table:
48
5 - Most Severe, Highest Likelihood of Occurrence, Hardest to Detect
1 - Least Severe, Lowest Likelihood of Occurrence, Easiest to Detect
Rank Risk Title Consequen Initial Likelihood Mitigated

ce Severity of Occurrence Likelihood of
Occurrence
1 Breakage of Struts 5 4 2
2 Damage to Science 5 4 2
Instruments
3 Engine Failure 5 2 1
3 Compromised Fuel 5 2 1
Tank
4 Damage to Solar 5 2 1
Panels
5 Damage to Payload 5 2 1
Housing
6 Guidance System 5 2 1
Malfunction
7 Software Malfunction 5 2 1
Table 3.1.6: Table of Potential Risks and their likelihood and consequence severity.
49
Figure 3.1.6b: Risk Mitigation Chart Ranking risks according to severity and probability of occurrence
(Lisa Guerra, 2008).
3.1.7. Performance Characteristics and

Predictions
Descent Predictions:
● The spacecraft will have an initial vertical velocity of 0 m/s, 10 km above the
moon’s surface
● Once the spacecraft accelerates and reaches 5 km, its velocity will reach 180
m/s. This is when the rockets will begin to decelerate the spacecraft
● The 4 rocket engines will decelerate the spacecraft at an average of 72.9 N per
second, which totals to 291.6 newtons of force per second
50
● The deceleration continues for 36.83 seconds until the spacecraft reaches 1 m/s,
0 meters above the moon’s surface
● To be able to withstand the mechanical and thermal stresses of the descent, the
landing legs will be made out of carbon fiber
Performance under Lunar Conditions:

● The Lunar terrain is bumpy as it is filled with rocks and craters. In order to
prevent the Hopper from toppling on the uneven surface and thus a Critical
Mission Failure, the primary struts of the Hopper have Honeycomb shock
absorbers to reduce the impact forces experienced by the Hopper.
● As the moon has a negligible atmosphere, the concern for wind storms and dust
particles is abated.
● Since the South Pole of the moon has very little sunlight, the Hopper will first land
in a spot with sunlight to fully charge the Lithium-Ion battery with the solar panels
atop the Hopper. Once the Hopper enters a PSR, there will be no sunlight so the
Lithium-Ion Battery will support all the payload instruments’ power requirements.
51
3.1.8: Confidence and Maturity of Design
The design of the hopper is currently at a TRL level of 3 due to the lack of testing and
affirming design choices. Once testing begins and data is acquired, the design can be
further improved. Although the design of the hopper itself is lacking in confidence due to
the lack of testing, the majority of the material and concepts used to create these
components have been tested and used in previous spacecraft. Table 3.1.8 lists
components used and relative testing.
Figure 3.1.8: Technology Readiness Level Descriptions (TWI Global).
Subsystem Concept and Materials TRL Level
MR-107T (Primary Thrusters) 5
MR-103D (Secondary Thrusters) 5
Ball joints 4
Crushable honeycomb 6
Aluminum 7075 6
Table 3.1.8: Subsystem Components.
Subsystems:
● Payload housing (temperature and vibrational tests)
● Landing legs (temperature, vibrational, drop tests)
● Thrusters (Coordinated thrust testing)
● Full system (Thermals, mechanical stress, and hover tests)
52
The design of the hopper presented has gone through many changes to fit within the
constraints of the mission and improve efficiency. Much of the planned materials have
also changed due to the lack of understanding lunar conditions and its effects on them.
A list of the major changes and a reason for these changes are shown below:
Change 1: Secondary thrusters placed on each face of the hopper. The original plan
was to use these side mounted thrusters to provide control over direction and
orientation but this was scrapped due to the excessive fuel consumption used to
maintain orientation. To solve this issue, the secondary thrusters were placed on the
bottom of the hopper to increase redundancy incase of primary and secondary engine
failure.
Change 2: Dimensions had to be altered due to complications with hinge placement. To

make sure the spacecraft was within the volumetric constraints, the angle of the primary
and secondary struts were changed many times. This led to the dimensions changing
for the hinge width and length, and also the hinge placement on the spacecraft
Change 3: Changes in material (carbon fiber to aluminum) used for legs, primary strut,
secondary strut, and footpads. Carbon fiber was found to deform at high temperatures
that may be caused by the engines. Further testing was also needed to see if low
temperatures would cause the carbon fiber to brittle and if it would break under sudden
impulsive stress. Aluminum was found to be used in many spacecraft before and has
been tested much more extensively in the context of the mission than carbon fiber has.
Change 4: Changed from two MR-107S primary thrusters to four MR-107T thrusters for
redundancy in coordination with secondary thrusters. In the case of a primary engine
failure, the secondary thrusters can be used to keep an upright orientation.
Confidence in the hopper can only be increased with testing and using the data
collected to improve the survivability of the hopper and the success rate of the mission.
3.2: Recovery/Redundancy System

The design contains recovery/redundancy systems that will lower the risk of failure.
More fuel than is necessary has been allotted for the possibility of correcting “hops”.
This extra fuel would allow the craft to slow during the descent which in turn would
prevent damage to the essential landing gear. The team has also designed the hopper
to have eight secondary thrusters on the bottom to correct tilt due to any incline on sites
53
we land on or collect data from. If the craft were to tilt or begin falling to its side,
corrections would be able to be made while continuing the mission with a scientific
return. Lastly the team designed the landing legs to be long enough to leave room for
the engine. This is also while taking into account the force and downward movement the
hopper will encounter during landing, as well as any landings that happen on uneven
terrain.
54
3.3: Payload Integration
Power Distribution
The Solar Panels atop the Hopper will provide 36 V of unregulated electricity, which is
then regulated down to 30 V using an MPPT, and stored in a Lithium Ion Battery. The 30
V load voltage is then connected to the Power Distribution Bus, which distributes
electric power to all electrical systems in the Hopper, including the payload, thrusters,
and the central computer. The Power Distribution Bus will have mechanical and
solid-state relay to easily supply and shut off power to different subsystems on
command of the central computer.
The Central Computer is the BAE RAD 750, which connects to all the devices and
instruments to gather Input and Output data, and connects to the Power Distribution
Bus to command the supply of power to all the electronics.
Figure 3.3a : Power System Circuit Diagram for the connections between Solar Panels and the
Battery.
55
Figure 3.3b: Circuit Diagram showing Power Distribution and I/O Bus Connections for the electronics in
the Hopper.
Payload Placement and Orientation:

All the instruments will be powered by solar panels that will be attached to the outside of
the hopper. The hopper will use its time in the sunlit surface to charge up the Lithium-ion
batteries so that the power stored can be used during the mission in the shadowed
regions of the lunar south pole. Energy storage redundancy is one of the key factors to
make this mission successful. Super-capacitors will be used as an equipment for energy
storage and redundancy which will be wired to power the instruments in an event of
solar panel malfunction.
The instruments are stowed in a housing enclosure, and operate through the bottom of
it. The Principal Investigator has divided the instruments into two groups based on their
functionality into Primary and Secondary instruments. Primary instruments are those
which would be directly responsible for the mission’s success, whereas secondary
instruments are those which will indirectly contribute to a successful mission. Primary
instruments include DAN, RADOM, and LiDar.
1. Primary Instruments
56
● DAN which stands for Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons is a
Neutron-spectrometer which bombards the planetary surface with
Neutrons and sensors to sense the amount of neutrons reflected back.
When a neutron comes in contact with a hydrogen atom, it will be
absorbed or deflected resulting in the lesser reflection. Due to this reason,
DAN needs to be placed near a cut out so that neutrons can travel
uninterrupted.
● RADOM is a very small device that will easily fit anywhere which is meant
for additional data collection regarding the ionisation radiation levels on
the lunar surface. RADOM needs to be stored outside so that it can
measure the amount of radiation without the interference of any other
element.
● NIRVSS which stands for Near Infrared Volatile Spectrometer Subsystem
analyzes infrared light in the electromagnetic spectrum. Hydrogen
molecules absorb and reflect certain wavelengths of infrared light which
will help the spacecraft in detecting water ON the lunar surface.
● LiDar is an Infrared-Spectrometer which will be used in an event of the
failure or malfunction of NIRVSS which will be used to detect frozen water
ON the lunar regolith. It works on the same principle of NIRVSS absorbing
infrared light emitted by the hydrogen atoms.
2. Secondary Instruments
● Electra Lite will be used to transmit radio waves which will be used to
establish a connection between the earth and the hopper with the orbiter
acting as an intermediary.
● IMU is an equipment that would be used to measure the altitude of the
spacecraft above a fixed surface.
● LOLA is an equipment that will be used to provide stability to the
spacecraft through its data on the orientation of the same. The equipment
will be connected with the computer which is going to be RAD 750 that
was designed by IBM.
57
Figures 3.3c,d: Clockwise from top - Rendered CAD Models of LN 200 Inertial Measurement Unit,
Velodyne LiDAR, and Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons.
58
Figures 3.3e,f : Rendered CAD Models of the Final Hopper showing Placement and Orientation of the
Payload Instruments.
59
Section 4
4.1 Selection, Design, and Verification
4.1.1 System Overview
The instruments for primary data collection will be the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons
(DAN) and the Near-Infrared Volatiles Spectrometer System (NIRVSS). DAN uses 3.2
Watts and NIRVSS uses 5 Watts of power (Mitrofanov et al., 2012; Roush et al., 2015).
The Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) will serve as an instrument for secondary data
collection and uses 0.1 W (Dachev et al., 2011). Communications will be a vital part of
the proposed mission. The Electra-Lite will be used for telecommunications between the
hopper and orbiter operating in the ultra-high frequency band (Edwards, Jr. et al., n.d.).
This communication system uses 60.2 Watts (European Space Agency, n.d.).
Figure 4.1.1a: DAN (Litvak, 2009).
Figure 4.1.2b: NIRVSS (AMES, n.d.).
60
Figure 4.1.3c: NIRVSS (AMES, n.d.).
Navigation is also a necessary component for this mission. To properly orient the
hopper, an Inertial Mass Unit (IMU) will be used, which includes an accelerometer and
gyroscope. This IMU uses 12 W of power (Northrop Grumman Corporation, n.d.).
LiDAR and LOLA are for terrain mapping and orientation for the hopper to make a safe
landing. LiDAR uses 12 W, while LOLA uses 34 W (Velodyne LiDAR , Inc., 2018; Riris
et al., 2017). Solar arrays will be used to power the instrumentation and navigation,
which can provide an output of up to 680 W (Vanitha et al., 2020).
For data processing and commands, the RAD750 microprocessor will be onboard the
hopper and uses 5 W of power (BAE Systems, 2002). Lithium ion batteries will also be
used as a redundant power generator, discharging up to 2.772 kW, and supercapacitors
(SC) will be used as a redundant power source, generating 1.2 kW/kg (Voltaplex
Energy, 2020; Maxwell Technologies, 2018). To protect against temperature extremes,
silica aerogel will be wrapped around the surface of the hopper and instruments. This
aerogel, created by Aspen Systems Inc., can withstand temperatures up to 200 °C and
as low as -50 °C (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2010). See Figure
4.1.5e for a visual representation of the relationships between all these components.
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Figure 4.1.4d: N2 chart for hopper and orbiter.
62
Figure 4.1.5e: N2 chart for hopper.
63
Figure 4.1.6f: N2 chart for orbiter.
4.1.2 Subsystem Overview
The primary data gathering system comprises two instruments: DAN and NIRVSS.
RADOM will be used as a secondary data collection system. DAN sends a pulse of
neutrons to the lunar surface and measures the time for these neutrons to reflect back
to the instrument. From these arrival times, DAN is able to determine the abundance of
any hydrogen bearing molecules (NASA, 2021). It has a mass of 2.6 kg with a volume
of 2638 cm3 (Mitrofanov et al., 2012). NIRVSS is used to analyze light emitted or
absorbed by the regolith to identify its composition. This will be used to identify water on
the lunar surface. NIRVSS has a mass of 1.74 kg and uses 5 W of power under normal
use and up to 14 W. NIRVSS has a volume of 1228.8 cm3 (Roush et al., 2015).
RADOM is used to measure radiation. This instrument has a mass of 98 g. RADOM is

one of the smallest components, with a volume of 80 cm3 (Dachev et al., 2011). The
communication system is the Electra-Lite radio system. This radio system has a mass
of 3 kg and a volume of 2870 cm3 (L3Harris Technologies, Inc., 2020; ESA, n.d.). Up to
2 Mbps of data transmission is possible with this system (NASA, n.d.).
When the hopper is in direct or near-direct sunlight, solar arrays will be used to capture
and convert energy for hops into PSRs. 0.68 kW of power can be converted using these
arrays, which will be stored in the supercapacitor for excursions involving no sunlight
(Vanitha et al., 2020). The lithium ion batteries are for emergency use or as an
alternative source of energy in case of malfunction. The thermal system consists of
sheets of silica aerogel, so does not require a power source for operation. The data
processing unit of choice is the RAD750 microprocessor, which has an area of 1.3 cm2
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and a mass of 9 g (BAE Systems, 2002). This microprocessor will analyze and send
data via Electra-Lite.
Figures 4.1.2a,b: RADOM, which has a length and height about that of a pen (Dachev).
The navigation system consists of three instruments: the IMU, LOLA, and LiDAR. The
IMU will ensure the hopper is stable. This unit has a mass of 750 g and a volume of
528.2 cm3 (Northrop Grumman Corporation, n.d.). LOLA and LiDAR will work in tandem
to image and map the lunar terrain for safe landing spots. LiDAR has a mass of 1 kg
and a volume of 824 cm3 (Velodyne LiDAR , Inc., 2018). LOLA has a mass of 12.6 kg
and a volume of ≈ 14336 cm3 (Riris et al., 2017).
4.1.3 Manufacturing Plan
All of the instruments will be Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS). DAN is an instrument

that has been used on Mars by NASA and was developed in the Space Research
Institute in Russia. LOLA was also developed by NASA. NIRVSS and RADOM are
products that were previously used on the Chandrayaan II mission, and developed by
the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). It is possible to obtain a commercial
65
transceiver through L3Harris Technologies, Inc. Solar panels are widely available and
will be obtained from Vikram Solar.
LiDAR will be obtained from Velodyne Inc. The lithium ion batteries will be purchased
from Voltaplex Energy. The microprocessor will be purchased from BAE Systems. The
thermal insulation will be obtained from Aerogel Technologies, LLC. Some work will be
outsourced to manufacturing companies. Instruments will come mostly assembled so
the bulk of the outsourcing will be related to the hopper itself.
The goal is to have the instrumentation delivered and prepared by February, 2022, and
the whole vehicle assembled by February, 2023. Delivery can take a little while so it will
be done as soon as the project receives funding and all plans have been finalized.
Testing will be done at any available NASA center once all required instrumentation has
arrived.
4.1.4 Verification and Validation Plan
As a basis, the team will verify that the instruments received are the instruments
ordered from the correct manufacturer. To verify the science instruments are functioning
as they should, the team will test the starting values received from the instruments with
the standard values from the instrument manufacturer. To validate that the instruments
are working correctly in the lunar environment, the science team will use previously
collected data from similar sites on the moon to see if the team’s collected data matches
the same values or patterns. Ideally, testing will be done in a simulation of the lunar
environment before sending the final model to the moon. To perform a thorough
validation plan for science instruments, the following tasks will be used:
● Sensitivity and specificity
● Accuracy and precision
● Repeatability
● Reproducibility
● Limit of detection
● Limit of quantitation
● Curve fitting
● System suitability
Sensitivity and Specificity

Sensitivity and specificity of a data set refers to classifying these data as either being
correctly identified with having a condition or correctly identified as not having a
condition, respectively. In terms of this mission’s instruments, these two statistical
measurements will be tested in a variety of environments with data known to be correct.
66
In other words, tests with the newly arrived instruments will involve incorrect data. If the
instrument has a high specificity and sensitivity, then it will be able to correctly
determine which data is “good” and which is “bad”.
Figure 4.1.4a: Classifications resulting from specificity and sensitivity measurements (Ryul et al., 2019).
Accuracy and Precision

Although related, accuracy and precision have distinct meanings in the context of
measurements. Accuracy refers to how close measurements are to accepted/expected
values, while precision is how close measurements are to each other. In the simulated
lunar environment, the accuracy and precision of the data will be compared to previous
laboratory experiments, as well as expected values. Using values for specificity and
sensitivity, accuracy can be calculated as follows
𝑇𝑃 + 𝑇𝑁
𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑦 = 𝑇𝑃 + 𝑇𝑁 + 𝐹𝑃 + 𝐹𝑁
(1)
Refer to Figure 4.1.4a for abbreviations in Equation 1.
Repeatability
Repeatability refers to how close measurements are to each other under the same
conditions. If an instrument has a high repeatability, data points would be consistent
with each other after multiple tests. The team must ensure a high repeatability for the
instruments by performing multiple tests in the same environment.
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Reproducibility
Reproducibility is similar to repeatability, except that reproducibility refers to different
scientists conducting the same experiments to arrive at similar results. By reproducing
similar experiments made by others (see Dachev et al., 2011; Heldmann et al., 2015;
and Roush et al., 2015), the science team can determine the reproducibility of the
results and determine if the mission can be executed given the current state of the
instruments after testing.
Limit of Detection
To determine whether the instruments are measuring anything at all, limits of detection
must be determined. The limit of detection is how precise measurements can be made
compared to the absence of what is being measured. Put differently, the limit of
detection determines whether an instrument can make minute measurements, and if
there is no nothing to measure, the instrument should not be collecting data (i.e. this
data is non-existent). The limit of detection is given by
𝑆𝑑𝑙 = 𝑆𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑔 + 3σ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑔 (2)
where 𝑆𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑔is the signal of the blank and σ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑔is the standard deviation of the blank’s
signal.
Limit of Quantitation
The limit of quantitation refers to how two different measurements can be reasonably
discerned. This measurement can be different to the limit of detection, but similar
comparisons between data points can be made.
Curve Fitting
By plotting data points, a line of best fit can be constructed. Associated with this line is
the coefficient of determination, which quantifies how well the line of best fit represents
the data. The coefficient of determination is defined to be
2 𝑅𝑆𝑆
𝑅 =1− 𝑇𝑆𝑆
(3)
where 𝑅𝑆𝑆is the sum of square of residuals and 𝑇𝑆𝑆is the total sum of squares.
Regression analysis can be performed based on the data to see how well data matches
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with previous results. Such analysis includes using the Pearson correlation coefficient,
method of least squares, interpolation, and extrapolation.
System Suitability
In the case of malfunction, the instrumentation must have a high robustness. That is to
say, when an instrument is damaged in some way, it must be able to continue
performing. How the instrument will perform under such conditions will be determined in
the testing phase of the mission on Earth. In this testing phase, the science team will
determine how data is affected under different failures (e.g. overheating, coolness,
short-circuiting, etc.).
4.1.5 FMEA and Risk Mitigation
The hopper will be bouncing across somewhat rough terrain, and although landing
spots have carefully been chosen, there is a chance that the sudden impulse force of
the landing or hop will be harmful to some of the instrumentation. The majority of the
instrumentation will be inside payload housing to help protect it, but instruments such as
the LiDAR, which must be outside of the vehicle, are at a much higher risk. The most
critical instrument is DAN, but instruments that contribute to navigation, i.e, IMU and
LiDAR, are very important as well. Redundancy systems are in place for some, but not
all, of the instruments.
The main design control will be running tests on Earth during the assembly process to
determine what is needed to keep the instruments performing optimally. The hopper will
be repeatedly moving from one crater to the other to collect data. Engine failure during
takeoff can lead to the loss of power which will make it impossible for the hopper to
takeoff and maintain altitude. The same scenario of engine failure can be anticipated
during the hopper’s descent which will destroy the hopper’s ability to decelerate to 1
meters/s resulting in the total loss of the asset. In addition to that, unequal thrust from
the four Aerojet Rocketdyne’s engines can result in the hopper to topple over the lunar
surface, disabling hopper’s ability to take off and collect data.
The hopper has a redundant power supply with Lithium-ion batteries being the primary
source of energy with a backup energy storage of supercapacitors. Instrument that is
responsible for the study of the water on the lunar regolith is backed by another
instrument capable of doing the same job in an event of failure. The asset will be
insulated by Aspen’s Aerogel sheets which can be torn apart due to their collision with
the lunar rocks resulting in the temperature imbalance resulting in instrument
malfunction.
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If the vibration threshold exceeds due to late firing of the thrusters, or due to last minute
course corrections then that might cause leakage in the fuel tank disabling the hopper’s
ability to perform experiments as the fuel that is being stored will interfere with the other
instruments functioning and the thrusters will not be having access to the required
amount of fuel for do the operation. The hopper is also likely to drift away from its
original predefined path set by the Principal Investigator, smashing itself onto a lunar
crater’s slope.
Risks Table
Rank Risk Title Consequence Initial Mitigated
Severity Likelihood of Likelihood of
Occurrence Occurrence
1 Damage to DAN 5 4 2
2 Damage to Solar 5 3 1
Panels
3 Damage to RADOM 3 4 2
4 Damage to NIRVSS 3 4 2
5 IMU Malfunction 4 2 1
6 LiDAR Malfunction 3 3 2
7 LOLA Malfunction 3 2 2
8 Electra-Lite 4 2 1
Malfunction
Table 4.1.5a
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Figure 4.1.5a: Risk Mitigation Chart for Payload.
71
Figure 4.1.5b: FMEA Risk Chart.
Key:
5 - Most Severe, Highest Likelihood of Occurrence, Hardest to Detect
1 - Least Severe, Lowest Likelihood of Occurrence, Easiest to Detect
4.1.6 Performance Characteristics
The hopper will be launched in the winter, and temperatures in the South Polar Regions
reach extremely low temperatures. Specifically at Shackleton Crater, the maximum
temperature observed was ≈ -185 °C (Haruyama et al., 2008). Using thermal insulation,
this temperature poses no risk to the majority of instruments. Electra-Lite can withstand
temperature ranges between -45 °C to +72 °C in operating mode (L3Harris
Technologies, Inc., 2020). DAN also operates in a similar range, between -40 °C to +50
°C (Mitrofanov et al., 2012).
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Figure 4.1.6a: Temperature of the Lunar South Pole (NASA).
Both DAN and Electra-Lite have been used on Mars rover missions, which have seen
temperature ranges from -40 °C to 40 °C (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, n.d.). NIRVSS can easily withstand extremely low temperatures, as
laboratory experiments have used the spectrometer at temperatures as low as -160 °C
(Roush et al., 2017). RADOM was located inside the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft,
protected from the cold of outer space (Dachev et al., 2011). During the LRO’s mission,
LOLA saw temperatures from -20 °C to 40 °C (Yu et al., n.d.). The IMU can withstand
temperatures down to -54 °C (Northrop Grumman Corporation, n.d.). LiDAR can
operate between -10 °C to 60 °C (Velodyne LiDAR , Inc., 2018). To protect LiDAR
against the cold environment, the KegSheet--which has been space certified--will be
wrapped around the instrument (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2018).
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4.2 Science Value
4.2.1 Science Payload Objectives
The goal of this mission is to detect water ice deposits as deep down as one meter in
the regolith in the Lunar South Pole region, with an accuracy of ±1%. In order to
efficiently maintain a sustained presence on the moon, human civilization needs to find
a regular supply of drinking water as well as water which can be used for refuelling the
spacecraft. Liquid water, through electrolysis, can be split into liquid Oxygen and liquid
Hydrogen, which can then be combined in the engines resulting in an exothermic
reaction that would generate thrust (Patel, 2020). The information gained from this
mission is very important in determining how feasible it is for humans to live on the
moon, not just visit.
Figure 4.2.1a: Potential spots where water ice may be found (NASA).
4.2.2 Creativity/Originality and Significance
The research was not limited to local files, but collected data from global designs, and
papers. In spite of a great deal of research, the hopper is chosen among other lunar
surface vehicles. Highest versatility, communication system with the orbiter, and
improved navigation system made the hopper exceptional since these are qualities of
rovers. The hopper’s unique design fundamentally affected the mission because it has
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the capacity to find a path into and out of craters while it explores and takes pictures of
the lunar environment.
Figure 4.2.1b: Graphic artist concept of a comet hopper (Jones, 2011).
The hopper will be following a predefined path set by the Principal Investigator with the
lunar coordinates and is set to land on the non-hazardous points on the Lunar surface.
Predefined path would result in energy conservation which will be one of the keys to the
mission’s success. Hopper will have a hazard detection ability that would enable the
spacecraft to operate efficiently. Moreover, the hopper’s connection to the orbiter will
directly provide interaction to Earth for assistance and last minute corrections.
Very few space missions have used hoppers, so, if successful, this particular mission
will demonstrate the effectiveness of hoppers, leading to its increase in use. In addition
to that, there are very few space missions which have energy storage redundancy, this
mission was specifically designed in such a way that the main mission has a very low
chance of failing.
Although these instruments have been used before, they will be used in a new way.
DAN has only been used on Mars and was attached to a rover.
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Figure 4.2.1c: Map of the Lunar South Pole Region (Robinson, 2010).
Shackleton Crater on the lunar south pole has been highlighted as a prime target for
manned missions or settlements due to its substantial sources of water, sunlight and
permanent shadow. Distance from Shackleton to Shoemaker approximately 80km.
4.2.3 Payload Success Criteria
In order for the mission to be successful, the instrumentation used must be able to
withstand extremely cold temperatures, endure a certain amount of radiation, and not
break while undergoing a sudden impulse. The hopper will be repeatedly taking off and
landing, which makes it a necessity for the instruments to be safely secured.
DAN and NIRVSS will be playing a vital role in this mission’s success in collecting data,
however, it is imperative that RADOM is working correctly to ensure that the hopper
stays on the right path and the radiation levels do not get too high.
The payload deliverables will give valuable information about substances found on the
moon. Although the objective of the mission is to find deposits of water ice, the use of
NIRVSS will be able to determine what other elements are present.
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4.2.4 Experimental Logic, Approach, and Method of
Investigation
The landing site is the start of our approach to collecting data. The team has chosen a
location that provides access to a permanently shadowed region. This region will
provide the most scientific return with DAN and NIRVSS, and was determined using
JMARS. DAN and NIRVSS are positioned so that the instruments will have the least
interference with other components on the rover. The instruments are also positioned so
that they are using the most of their range of visuals.
RADOM will be used to measure radiation levels at various altitudes on the surface (i.e.
whenever the hopper is in-flight). For each hop, measurements made by DAN and
NIRVSS will be performed. In addition to that, instruments LOLA and LiDAR will be
used together to map the lunar surface. Using these two together will ensure that the
hopper has a safe landing area. LOLA also serves as a redundant system for LiDAR.
After data is collected by the two primary instruments, they will be uploaded via
RAD750, which will send that data over Electra-Lite. This data will then be transmitted
from the orbiter back to Earth.
4.2.5 Testing and Calibration Measurements
Landing in Shackleton crater will allow calibration of DAN, as the Lunar Prospector
found evidence of hydrogen in this crater (Feldman et al., 1998). As DAN relies on the
reflected neutrons, any absence of neutrons will correspond to a presence of hydrogen.
Making a hop to Shoemaker, where high concentrations of hydrogen were also
observed, DAN can be calibrated to these measurements. In a similar fashion, NIRVSS
can be calibrated using previous data about the Shoemaker crater. If the concentration
of hydrogen matches measurements made by the Lunar Prospector, 146 ppm, then
DAN and NIRVSS will be in good shape to make new measurements. The radiation
measured by RADOM can be compared to measurements made by other moon
landers.
4.2.6 Precision of Instrumentation, Repeatability of

Measurement, and Recovery System
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The first essential instrument which is Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons can detect water
content as low as 1/10th of 1 percent with a high rate of sensitivity. DAN pulses the
lunar surface with neutrons from a height of 80 cm, and the neutrons travel 50-80 cm
below the surface before being scattered back to DAN’s detectors. The stereoscopic
instrument of the hopper will map the lunar surface topographically with a high
resolution.
With this instrument, a complete three dimensional map of the Moon with 5 m spatial
resolution and 10-bit quantization will be used for Lunar Water-Ice Strategic Science
Investigation. To measure the radiation on the lunar surface, a very small instrument,
RADOM, will be used. The neutron albedo can contribute as much as ~20% to the
effective dose when the radiation environment is dominated by GCRs. When SEPs
dominate, the neutrons may contribute an additional ~2% to the total dose. The last
instrument, NIRVSS, will not be powered during launch, orbital, or landing phases of the
mission, so once the near surface ice is found it will start. The independent, fiber-optic
fed, short-wave (SW) and long-wave (LW) spectrometers cover 1300-2500 and
2200-4000 nm with a minimum of 1 nm spectral sampling and spectral resolutions of
<20 and <50 nm, respectively.
In case of instrument failure, steps will be taken to ensure that the mission can still be
as successful as possible. The software and navigation will be tested thoroughly prior to
launch, which should ensure that there are no bugs, however, there will be redundant
communication systems and computer systems just in case. Because having redundant
solar panels would not fit within given constraints, super capacitors will be used as a
back-up power source. These will be used in the event that the solar panels break or
have not absorbed enough sunlight to be effective; these will be crucial because of the
lack of sunlight in the Southern Region. Instruments will be safely stowed in housing
enclosures to protect them from harm. The most crucial instrument for research is DAN,
and NIRVSS would be the back-up to that. RADOM is useful because it can indicate if
radiation is becoming too high, however, it is not necessary for mission success.
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4.2.7 Expected Data and Analysis
DAN
Figure 4.2.7a: Example data from DAN (NASA, 2021).
Although Figure 4.2.7a features data taken from Mars, similar plots in neutron albedo
reflectance would indicate any presence of hydrogen. Results from DAN give a range of
0.5% to 6% of weight equivalent hydrogen over Curiosity’s journey across the red planet
(Nikiforov et al., 2018, pg. 1). Modeling hydrogen abundance in permanently shadowed
regions (PSRs) gives estimates up to 30 wt %, several times larger than DAN’s
measurements (Li et al., 2018, pg. 8907).
Based on this, it is expected that measurements made on this mission would be

approximately five times higher than hydrogen measurements on Mars. Using similar
data analysis techniques performed by Kerner et al. (2020), it is possible to compare
predicted and actual results obtained from this mission (“Analysis of Active Neutron
Measurements From the Mars Science Laboratory Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons
Instrument: Intrinsic Variability, Outliers, and Implications for Future Investigations”).
Kerner’s work involved a model of Martian soil with varying amounts of hydrogen
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content. They performed a chi-squared test on the simulated neutron emission times
(called “die-away curves”) and measurements made by DAN (2020, pg. 4).
Combining data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Lunar Crater Observation
and Sensing Satellite, and Chandrayaan-2 to generate a model for hydrogen
concentrations in the lunar South Polar Region will involve a similar data analysis as
performed by Kerner et al. Along with determining the hydrogen concentration in PSRs,
it is important to look at any potential outliers. As Kerner describes, outliers in their
simulation corresponded to regions of high neutron absorbencies (i.e. absorbances
other than water ice) on Mars (2020). With this in mind, both simulations and in-situ
measurements must be analysed with even higher scrutiny. DAN has two modes of
operation, short-duration and long-duration (lasting < 2 minutes and ~ 30 minutes,
respectively) that impact the accuracy of detections. With short-duration, hydrogen
content measurements will have an accuracy of ~ 1%. With long duration, the accuracy
is increased to ~ 0.1-0.3% (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2021).
𝐷𝐴𝑁 𝑠𝑖𝑚 2
2 (𝑐𝑖 −𝑐𝑖 )
χ =∑ 2 2 (4)
𝑖 σ 𝐷𝐴𝑁+σ 𝑠𝑖𝑚
𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑖
Equation 4 provides an example of the chi-squared test on data at each moment in time
𝑠𝑖𝑚 𝐷𝐴𝑁 2 2
𝑖, where simulated data is denoted by𝑐𝑖 and actual data by 𝑐𝑖 .σ 𝐷𝐴𝑁 andσ 𝑠𝑖𝑚 represent
𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑖
the variances of instrument and simulated data, respectively (“Analysis of Active

Neutron Measurements From the Mars Science Laboratory Dynamic Albedo of
Neutrons Instrument: Intrinsic Variability, Outliers, and Implications for Future
Investigations,” 2020, pg. 11).
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NIRVSS
Figure 4.2.7b: Data from NIRVSS field campaign in Mauna Kea, Hawaii (Heldmann et al., 2015, pg.
2429).
NIRVSS can also verify measurements made by DAN, as both can detect relative
concentrations of hydrogen (although NIRVSS has a much greater detection range).
While measurements made on the moon will not resemble Figure 4.2.7b, spectra taken
from previous missions can be used as a reference for spectra from NIRVSS. Due to
the cancellation of NASA’s Resource Prospector, data collected by NIRVSS is
constrained to terrestrial experiments, so any future data collection will be subject to
unique data analysis. Heldmann et al. used exploration ground system (xGDS) software
to plot neutron measurements as seen in Figure 4.2.7b (2015, pg. 2432). Utilizing this
same software, graphs of hydrogen abundance can be plotted for the lunar surface.
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RADOM
Figure 4.2.7c: Example data from RADOM (Dachev et al., 2011).
Although the altitude of the hopper will not be of the same magnitude as Figure 4.2.7c,
variations in radiation will be expected at some level. Once again, such measurements
can be compared to previous observations obtained from former lunar missions.
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Section 5
5.1 Personnel Safety
5.1.1 Safety Officer
Connie McNulty will be the safety officer. It is her responsibility to ensure that thorough
research regarding any potential hazard has been conducted. This includes but is not
limited to: mechanical failures,the adverse effects on the instrumentation due to
environmental conditions, and any hazards for humans, e.g., lab safety, manufacturing
risks, launch protocol, etc.
Thus far, the weather conditions, radiation levels, and geology of the moon has been
investigated. This will provide the team with the information necessary to take
precautions to protect the vehicle and payload, as well as ensure mission success.
Possible risks for lab work and manufacturing have been identified, and strategies to
mitigate these are currently being developed.
5.1.2 List of Personnel Hazards
Although much of the manufacturing is outsourced, some lab work and assembly will be
required of the team. Certain materials pose a safety/health hazard if not disposed of in
the proper manner. Furthermore, personnel can be injured due to broken equipment,
such as glassware.
The following are potential lab hazards:

● Burns
● Irritation from from exposure to chemicals
● Toxic fumes causing difficulty breathing or illness
● Chemical spills
● undesired reaction between chemicals
Also, working with electrical equipment with exposed or improper wiring, high currents &
voltage, puts personnel at risk for electrocution. Also, un-well maintained batteries are
prone to fires, explosions, and release of toxic chemicals.
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In a factory, warehouse, or any other location in which manufacturing and assembly will
be done, there is the risk of severe injury due to:
● Tools, sharp objects, and heavy equipment, which can cause injury to body parts
or eyes, muscle strain, broken bones, and other injuries.
● Welding has the potential to burn personnel if proper precautions are not taken
and improper use of tools and/or equipment could cause injury to hands,
muscles, eyes, etc.
5.1.3 Hazard Mitigation
Standard lab safety protocols will be in place; all those in the lab will be required to wear
gloves, safety glasses, closed toed shoes, and clothing covering feet, legs and arms at
all times. Additionally, face masks may be necessary depending on the harshness of the
chemicals used. In case of chemical spills, eye wash stations and showers will be
readily available. There will be bins to safely dispose of any broken materials, such as
glass, and a chemical disposal bucket.
Manufacturing and assembly protocols will be similar. All personnel will be required to
adhere to all safety guidelines prescribed by the manufacturing facility. Close toed
safety shoes, long pants, and safety glasses will be required, and hard hats or other
safetywear may be needed. Training from an expert will be required for any personnel
planning on using equipment. Removal of loose personnel items (i.e.watches, badges,
rings) may be required in some manufacturing and assembly areas.
For lab and manufacturing areas all hazardous material (HAZMAT) will be identified.
Based on the functional need of the individual work areas lab managers and
manufacturing managers will declare the chemicals needed (i.e. isopropyl alcohol,
cutting fluids for manufacturing, argon gas, solder, corrosion preventative compound) to
accomplish technical and experimental tasks to the safety officer. The safety officer will
maintain a master list and update work areas Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
libraries and books. The MSDS book will be located within five feet of where HAZMAT is
stored in work areas.
Only Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) approved MSDS sheets
will be used in MSDS libraries and books. An example MSDS sheet for
Monomethylhydrazine can be found in appendix (Deliverable #7 folder). MSDS sheets
detail HAZMAT safe storage container and temperature ratings, personal protective
equipment requirements for handling, disposal considerations, first aid measures for
84
improper exposure, fire fighting measures, accidental release measures, and other data
depending on the chemical.
It is the responsibility of the work areas to enforce individual awareness of MSDS and
the safety officers responsibility to ensure the libraries and books are updated monthly
and when new HAZMAT is added to an area. Overall MSDS awareness refresher
training is required annually.
Depending on engineering manufacturing and assembly operations clean room

procedures may need to be developed and instituted for manufacturing and assembly to
prevent foreign object debris (FOD prevention program).
5.2 Vehicle/Payload Safety

5.2.1 Environmental Hazards
List of Environmental Hazards that the Hopper might face while on the moon:
● While traversing the surface of the moon, the Hopper will perform short duration
flights (i.e hops), and therefore will have to land on the lunar surface multiple
times, undergoing a lot of stress.
● Due to the rocky terrain of the lunar surface, landing the Hopper on significantly
uneven terrain could damage the Hopper and can even cause it to overturn,
jeopardizing the entire mission. Vibrations upon landing also have the potential to
damage the Hopper.
● Additionally, the extreme weather conditions on the moon ranging from, 260 ℉ to
-280 ℉, could cause the materials composing the Hopper, Aluminum 7076 &
Carbon Fiber, to expand or shrink in size based on the temperature on the moon
at the time. In addition to the extreme heat from the moon, the vehicle will also
have to operate under intense heat due to the rocket engines.
The Hopper will be traveling at a predefined path assigned by the principal

investigators. The Hopper is going to charge its instruments between two hops via solar
power when it enters the sunlit areas of the lunar regolith.
● The instruments of the Hopper could face power shortage due to a number of
reasons which includes the failure of the energy storage equipments like
batteries and the supercapacitors, failure to charge the battery between hops
while the Hopper is at the sunlit area of the lunar regolith, the Hopper’s engines
running out of fuel due to last minute corrections or leakage which could result in
85
Hoppers inability to go to the sunlit areas, and Hopper toppling into the lunar
crater resulting in its complete destruction.
● The Hopper will be exploring the southern region of the moon and will have to
endure periods of no sunlight, as well as very cold temperatures.
● The primary power source is solar, and power failure would result in total mission
failure as no scientific data can be collected.
● The cold temperatures, as well as high levels of radiation, could also interfere
with instrument performance.
● The Hopper moves via short duration flight (i.e. hops), involving high duration
and repetition of sudden force. An unplanned impulse force can potentially knock
wires loose, thus disconnecting the power source, navigation system, or
communication system, or cause damage to the instrumentation.
● The operating system, which dictates all hardware and software processes for
the mission, also relies on the power source.
● Dust getting trapped inside the Hopper can potentially interfere with the wiring.
5.2.2 Hazard Mitigation
Careful consideration has been put into material choice; Aluminum is able to withstand
great amounts of stress, but still has ductile behavior at extremely low temperatures,
and has a high melting point. Carbon Fiber is ideal for the legs because it is not too
brittle where the legs will fracture easily with each hop, but it is sturdy enough to support
the Hopper during each compression.
The Hopper’s center of gravity has been carefully chosen so it will be less likely to
topple. Furthermore, shock absorbers will be used to lessen the impact from each hop,
reducing the chances of vibrations and/or rough terrain causing damage.
To protect instruments from physical damage, e.g., broken camera lens, cracks, etc.,
they will be surrounded in a safety enclosure. This enclosure will be able to absorb
shock from impulse forces. It will also be able to protect the instruments from
environmental elements such as radiation and extreme temperatures.
In case of solar power failure, supercapacitors will be used as a back-up power source.
Redundant systems are not a viable option for every aspect of the mission, however,
there will be a redundant communication system and operating system to ensure that
no data is lost and that the vehicle is always able to navigate itself properly. To protect
the circuits from dust and vibrations, they will be sealed as best as possible. The
86
likelihood of dust interfering with this mission is very low considering the lack of wind on
the moon, however the Hopper will kick some dust up with each hop.
87
Section 6 - Activity Plan
6.1 Budget
The budget breakdown is shown below (Figure 6.1a). It outlines the cost for every
aspect of the project. The mission spans three years, with a total budget--including the
margin--of $193,261,116. For each year, the salary for a team member is $80,000.
Travel expenses arise if team members have to travel to test facilities and when the
vehicle is launched. The leadership team attending the launch temporary duty
assignment (TDY) can be determined roughly at this time. Estimated factors include
rental vehicle cost, fuel, number of attendees, and flight cost. Costs which are unlikely
to change are hotel cost, meals and incidentals (MI&E) cost, and per diem, due to
federal employee travel regulations (FTR). Based on a projected cost of $45 (per day)
for a rental vehicle, $640 (per person) cost for round trip flight, $100 (for entire TDY) for
fuel, $100 baggage fee (per person [$50 for each flight]), and fixed cost of $71 (per day
per person [except for first and last day]) for MI&E, and $171 (per day per person) for
lodging, and a total of five days duration it can be determined the TDY cost will range
between $4146.90 (for 2 personnel) and $23,646.90 (for entire team). Because it can
only be predicted what a hotel or flight will cost, the budget for travel is $24,000 each
year.
For outsourced manufacturing costs, there will only be expenses in Years 1 and 2
because no instrumentation will be purchased in Year 3, since it will strictly be
assembly, testing, and the launch. Modifications will not be needed for sensors, such as
DAN, that will simply be mounted on the vehicle, but they will be needed for the
communication and navigation systems, as well as the computer. Since most of the
instrumentation includes sensors, more money is allocated to commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS) expenses. The bulk of the equipment cost will be in Years 2 and 3 as there will
be no test facility needed in Year 1, and very little manufacturing. Similarly, the majority
of the budget for materials will be used in Year 2, with a significantly smaller portion
being used in Years 1 and 3.
88
Figure 6.1a: Total Projected Budget for this mission.
89
6.2 Schedule
Safety reviews and budget/schedule updates will be ongoing throughout the project.
Pre-Phase A 05/2021
Initial Mission Concept 05/2021
Phase A 6/7/2021
General Project Management Approach (how the team will be
structured) 5/31/2021
Final Mission Concept (determination of vehicle to be used, basic idea
of instruments involved) 6/7/2021
Phase B 7/27/2021
Final Determinations of vehicle and payload components 7/1/2021

CAD Modeling of vehicle and payload 7/20/2021
Safety and Budget Review Ongoing
PDR 7/27/2021
Phase C 8/1/2022
Budget Updates Ongoing
Safety Review Ongoing
Review of Previous Documents 9/1/2021
Any additional updates to CAD models or other designs (circuits,
payload layout, etc.) 12/15/2021
Determine which testing facilities (if any) will be needed in this stage
and contact them 12/20/2021
Order instrumentation (this may require international/domestic travel
as many instruments are not NASA-made) 1/5/2022
Order Materials and Parts (Aluminum, Carbon Fiber, Propellant,
Supercapacitors, Thrusters) 2/5/2022
Confirm landing sites using JMARS 3/5/2022
All materials and parts ready to go 7/15/2022
Review of CDR, PRR, SIR 8/1/2022
Phase D 8/1/2023
Build payload housing 10/30/2022
Build legs and footpads 12/15/2022
90
Connect pieces of the hopper 1/5/2023
Wire the instruments together according to the circuit diagram 1/15/2023

Complete any necessary modifications to communication and
navigation systems 2/1/2023
Attach solar panels and supercapacitors 2/15/2023
Verification & Validation (ensuring all parts work, doing small tests) 3/1/2023
ORR 3/15/2023
MRR 4/15/2023
Launch Prep 6/15/2023
TRR 7/1/2023
Final Safety Review 7/8/2023
Launch 8/1/2023
Phase E 10/15/2023
Landing 8/4/2023
Hops (these cannot be determined until the vehicle has reached the
lunar surface) TBD
PLAR 9/1/2023
CERR 10/1/2023
End of Mission 11/12/2023
Table 6.2: Schedule of Mission Timeline.
6.3 Outreach Summary

The outreach plan for this project includes conducting a mini L’SPACE program for kids
of elementary and middle school levels. These mini programs would consist of short
weekly videos featuring Ad Lunam team members and several other NASA officials
describing their experiences and explaining simple STEM concepts. To make this
experience engaging and interactive for the students, small engineering projects will be
given to simulate real-world problems, such as an egg drop that simulates a lander
attempting to land on an extraplanetary surface, or a bottle rocket to teach concepts of
aerodynamics in an engaging manner. Through this approach, team Ad Lunam hopes
that younger students will learn about interesting STEM concepts in an engaging
manner at a young age so that they could one day consider STEM as a possible career
option.
91
6.4 Program Management Approach
The team was divided into three sub-teams: engineering, science, and business
administration. The engineering and science teams were responsible for the research
and design of the vehicle, while the main priority of the business administration team
was to handle budgeting and scheduling. Team members selected which sub-team to
be part of based on their personal interests and skills. The project manager (PM) and
deputy project manager (DPM) were elected by the group as a whole, and oversaw the
organization of the sub-teams to ensure that everything went smoothly. Within the
sub-teams, it was at the discretion of the sub-team lead to determine how
responsibilities and tasks would be delegated; some research was conducted together,
but sometimes it was done individually. Frequent meetings were held among both the
sub-teams and the whole team in order to keep all team members up to date on the
progress of the project.
Few issues arose, but everyone in the group was encouraged to openly communicate
with the team and express any concerns they had. The PM and DPM kept in constant
contact with the team to make sure that everything was going smoothly.
Figure 6.4a: Organization Chart for Team Ad Lunam.
92
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NASA L’Space Academy Team 21 Ad Lunam:

Mission Concept Design PDR

Mentor: Carol Botros

July 27, 2021

Section 1: Introduction and Summary 4

1.2 Mission Overview 7

1.3 Descent Maneuver and Vehicle Design Summary 11

1.4 Payload and Science Instrumentation Summary 14

3.1 Selection, Design, and Verification 22

3.2: Recovery/Redundancy System 52

3.3: Payload Integration 54

Section 6 - Activity Plan 85

Project Manager: Abhiishek Singh Muralidhar

Deputy Project Manager: Mitchel Medvec

Lead Engineer/Mechanical Engineer: Brooke Fujishima

Chemist: Seda Yilmaz

Planning Lead/Geologist: Connie McNulty

Electrical Engineer/Scheduling Manager : Aniketh Devarasetty

Carl is working in aviation as an Induction Examiner, former Heavy Structures

Lead Scientist/Aerospace Engineer: Ashutosh Sahu

Aerospace Engineer: Tyler Pipp

1.2.1 Mission Statement

1.2.2 Mission Requirements

1.2.4 Concept of Operations (COO)

Figure 1.2.4a: Concept of Operation.

Figure 1.3a: Hopper exploration using controlled descent

● DAN which stands for Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons is a neutron spectrometer

2.2 Evolution of Descent Maneuver and Vehicle

Figure 2.2a displays the Apollo Lunar Roving

Figure 2.2a: Apollo Lunar Roving

Treads shown in Figure 2.2b were considered to

Figure 2.2b: Treads (Robot Store HK, 2016).

Figure 2.2c: NASA Surveyor lander.

While a significant part of a hopping vehicle was going to be an investigation into a

3.1 Selection, Design, and Verification

3.1.1 System Overview

1 - best option, 3 - does not meet criterion

Table 3.1.1b: Material properties (Materials Science Articles, n.d.)

Aluminum 75-360 MPa 30-280 MPa 2,710 kg/m3 $2.43/kg

Carbon Fiber 600 MPa 570 MPa 1,750 kg/m3 $140/kg

Steel 420 MPa 250 MPa 7,700 kg/m3 $2.97/kg

Figure 3.1.2: Assembly of hopper vehicle.

Table 3.1.2a: Components of primary struts & justification

Outer shell ● Provides support

Secondary inner ● Attaches to ball joint and footpads

Crushable ● Dissipates energy from descent & landing by

Ball joint ● Allows rotational movement between the footpads

Footpad ● Rotates to provide stability to the vehicle body

Bored fillets ● Provides angular connection to the secondary struts

Bolt Fasteners ● Secures instruments to the payload housing and

Figures 3.1.2a & 3.1.2b: Outer shell CAD.

Secondary Inner Rod NX CAD

Figure 3.1.2c: Secondary inner rod.

Figures 3.1.2 f, g, &h: Primary Strut Assembly.

Figure 3.1.2k: Dimensioned CAD Drawing of Secondary Strut.

Material Type Modulus Density Tensile Failure