DEMO 04 · LUNAR PLANNING

CLPS Lunar Mission Browser

Choose a landing zone by balancing engineering constraints with science goals.

Spacey's briefing

A landing site is not chosen from one number. Scientists and engineers consider illumination, communication, terrain safety, temperatures, resources and the science they hope to do.

Need to move on? You can skip Chapter 4, but Spacey will remember that you skipped it.

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SunlightIllumination affects power and thermal conditions.

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CommunicationA useful site must support the mission's communication plan.

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Science goalsThe most valuable science can sometimes pull a mission toward a harder location.

LUNAR LANDING CHALLENGE

Plan the site. Survive three landing burns.

The mission now has three timed burns: approach, braking and touchdown. A poor site choice makes every safe window smaller, so mission planning matters before you even start descending.

🎮 3-BURN LANDING

CLPS landing zone simulation

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WATCH & UNDERSTAND

Exploring the Moon with NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services

NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative sends science and technology demonstrations to the Moon using commercial lunar delivery providers.

Video source: NASA on YouTube. It plays inside this page when internet access is available.