The LSAM launches its ascent stage to return the astronauts to Lunar Orbit.

The Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) is the planned American moon landing vehicle that will allow astronauts to land there around 2020 as part of NASA's Project Constellation. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (4267x2400, 2120 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Lunar Surface Access Module Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (4267x2400, 2120 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Lunar Surface Access Module Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Project Constellation is NASAs current plan for space exploration. ...

Name

The LSAM is currently expected to be named "Artemis" after the Greek goddess of The Moon, however no official announcement has been made.^[1] The Artemis of Versailles, a Roman copy of the marble sculpture of Leochares, now at the Louvre Artemis (Greek: nominative , genitive ), in Greek mythology was daughter of Zeus and of Leto and the twin sister of Apollo. ...

Description

The LSAM, which is similar in design to (but much larger than) the Apollo Lunar Module (LM), will consist of two stages: a descent stage, which will house the majority of the fuel, power supplies, and breathing oxygen for the crew, and an ascent stage, which will house the astronauts, life-support equipment, and fuel for the ascent stage motor and steering rockets. Like the Apollo LM, the LSAM's crew module is based on a sideways cylinder, but unlike its two-man Apollo ancestor, the LSAM is designed to carry the entire four-man mission crew to the surface while the Orion Spacecraft remains unmanned in lunar orbit. It can also be flown unmanned, similar in the Apollo Applications Program's LM Truck concept, but without having to fly a manned Orion spacecraft out to the Moon (thus the unmanned LSAM would be flown similar to that of the unmanned aerial drones used by the U.S. Air Force). ¹ ² ³ ™ bob loves cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee: The LEM flight instrumentation panel and front windows. ... Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit Orion spacecraft with docked LSAM lunar lander Orion spacecraft approaching the ISS Orion during a landing on Earth Orion is a manned spacecraft currently under development by the United States. ... The Apollo Applications Program (AAP) was established by NASA headquarters in 1968 to develop science based manned space missions using surplus material from the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Apollo Lunar Module. ... Seal of the Air Force. ...

The LSAM, like the LM, will have two hatches – one located on top for docking and internal transfer between the LSAM and the Orion, and a main hatch for going out to the lunar surface. Unlike the Apollo LM, the LSAM will have an airlock similar those on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station between the cabin and main hatch. The airlock will allow the astronauts to put on and take off their spacesuits without trailing hazardous moon dust into the main cabin, as well as allowing the vehicle to retain its internal pressure – the Apollo LM required the entire cabin to be fully depressurized before a moon walk. The airlock would allow an astronaut with a malfunctioning spacesuit to re-enter the vehicle without the entire crew having to end their moon walk. This article is about the NASA Space Shuttle vehicle. ... International Space Station insignia ISS Statistics Crew: 3 As of July 21, 2006 Perigee: 352. ... Apollo 15 space suit A spacesuit is a complex system of garments, equipment, and environmental systems designed to keep a person alive and comfortable in the harsh environment of outer space. ...

The spacecraft will also include a miniature camping-style toilet, similar to the unit now used on the ISS and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft; a food warmer to eliminate the "cold soup" menu used during Apollo missions; a laser-guided distance measurement system (with radar backup); and new "glass cockpit" that will be identical to that used on the Orion spacecraft. Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station Soyuz (Russian: Союз, pronounced sah-YOUS, meaning union) is a series of spacecraft designed by Sergey Korolyov for the Soviet Unions space program. ... A Glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic instrument displays. ...

Engines

It will use current cryogenic fuel technologies for the descent and ascent stages. The Apollo Lunar Module, advanced technology in its day, used hypergolic fuels, chemicals that combust on contact with each other, requiring no ignition mechanism and allowing an indefinite storage period. The cryogenic fuels, like the hypergolic fuels planned for the Orion spacecraft, will be pressure-fed using helium gas, eliminating malfunction-prone pumps. Cryogenic fuels are fuels that requires storage at extremely low temperatures. ... Hypergolic rocket fuels spontaneously ignite when their two components come into contact with each other. ... General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ...

Mission requirements oblige the vehicle to be able to descend from an equatorial (or high-inclination) lunar orbit to a polar landing site, along with braking it and the Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit, as the Orion spacecraft's onboard Delta II-based engine and the amount of fuel it carries is insufficient to break the Orion/LSAM stack into lunar orbit (also crucial if it is flown unmanned without an Orion crew). The new lander will be powered by four modified RL-10 engines (currently in use on the Centaur second stage of the Atlas V rocket), burning liquid hydrogen (LH₂) and liquid oxygen (LOX) for the descent phase, and using a single RL-10 for the trip back to the CEV. A Delta II rocket launches from Cape Canaveral carrying a GPS satellite The Boeing IDS Delta II family of launch vehicles has been in service since 1989. ... RL-10 Rocket Engine Specifications. ... Model of Centaur with Surveyor as payload. ... Mercury Atlas 9 rocket and capsule on pad The Atlas is a venerable line of space launch vehicles built by Lockheed Martin. ... LH2 is an acronym used in the aerospace industry, which stands for Liquid Hydrogen. ... Liquid oxygen (also LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace industry) is the liquid form of oxygen. ...

Originally, NASA wanted to power the ascent stage using LOX and liquid methane (LCH₄); as future missions to Mars would require the astronauts to live on the planet, using technologies (such as the Sabatier Reactor to convert the carbon dioxide (CO₂) found on the planet into methane (using either found or transported hydrogen), but cost overruns and infant LOX/LCH₄ rocket technology has forced NASA to revert to current cryogenic technologies, although future variants will have LOX/LCH₄ technologies to allow the LSAM to serve as a testbed for such technologies after a permanent lunar base is established. The simplest hydrocarbon, methane, is a gas (at standard temperature and pressure, STP) with a chemical formula of CH4. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... The Sabatier process involves the reaction of hydrogen with carbon dioxide at elevated temperatures and pressures in the presence of a nickel catalyst to produce methane and water. ...

On-Orbit Assembly

Because of the spacecraft's size and weight, the LSAM, and its associated Earth Departure Stage, will be launched into a Low-Earth Orbit using the heavy-lift Ares V launch vehicle, followed by a separate launch of an Orion spacecraft lifted by an Ares I. After rendezvous and docking with the LSAM in LEO, the crew will then configure the Orion/LSAM combination, followed by the firing of the Earth Departure Stage to propel the two spacecraft to the Moon. If an unmanned LSAM is flown, the spacecraft will be checked out after the first EDS firing in LEO (similar to that of the Apollo "Parking Orbit") before the second firing of the EDS propels the unmanned LSAM to the Moon. The Earth Departure Stage (EDS) is the name of the upper stage of the heavy-lift Ares V (CaLV) that will place the Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) into low Earth orbit for Project Constellation. ... Comparison of the Saturn V, Space Shuttle, Ares I, and Ares V. This article is about the Ares V launch vehicle. ... This article is about the Ares I launch vehicle. ...

References

1. ^ Flightglobal.com article (Accessed 03 Oct 2006)

External links

• NASA Concept Model
• Space Review
• Globalsecurity