Team Members
David Bishop, Alex Brito, Kayla Garoust, Michael Gerber, Jeff Glynn, Austin Horrell, & Devin Pryor
Abstract
The Lunartics Suborbital Lunar Transport (SLT) is an unmanned lunar hopper capable of supporting astronauts anywhere within 300 km of Shackleton Crater Station at the lunar south pole. The ability to carry payloads with a volume of 0.3 m3 and a mass of 200kg allows for a wealth supplies and equipment to be sent to astronauts per their needs. The SLT is an autonomous vehicle which when given the location of astronauts in need can locate a safe place to land nearby within a few hours with a precision of 10 meters. If necessary, astronauts can also manually control the landing if the terrain is too rough for its precision. In addition, to prioritize astronaut safety, the SLT’s launch sequence is designed to eject as little regolith as possible as exhaust plumes carrying regolith can severely damage their EMU’s and equipment.