German moon mission

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A German moon mission is a space mission to the moon in which development, production and operation are in German hands.

Moon orbiter LEO

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) developed a concept for a German lunar mission under the name Lunar Exploration Orbiter (LEO), which was presented to some German parliamentarians in February 2007 and at the European Planetary Science Congress in August 2007.

The mission was to consist of two lunar orbiters, which should completely map the moon over the course of four years and also capture the moon's magnetic and gravitational fields. All examinations should be carried out in three dimensions.

The costs were estimated at 300 to 400 million euros, spread over about five years. In July 2008, however, the project was discontinued. Although the space budget was increased in principle in the federal budget, no funds were made available for LEO.

Unmanned moon landing

In June 2009 the DLR awarded a feasibility study with a volume of 1 million euros. The object of investigation was no longer a lunar satellite, but an unmanned soft landing on the lunar surface. The contractor, EADS Astrium, should determine what requirements must be placed on a landing vehicle and what technologies are necessary for this. The results of the study were not published.

Mission to the Moon

The Berlin company PTScientists (formerly Part Time Scientist ) has been planning the Mission to the Moon with an unmanned landing and a rover trip on the lunar surface since 2008 . Originally this should take place as part of the Google Lunar X-Prize competition. In the absence of funding, the planned start time was pushed further and further into the future. The company filed for bankruptcy in July 2019.

For the even more distant future, PTScientists is planning or planning further moon flights with the same lander, which are to be carried out with Ariane 6 and with the support of ESA .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christoph Seidler: Glos collects German moon mission. Spiegel Online, July 12, 2008, accessed October 13, 2009 .
  2. ↑ Axel Orth: German moon mission deleted. Raumfahrer.net, July 13, 2008, accessed October 13, 2009 .
  3. ↑ Feasibility study for canceled mission. Spiegel Online, June 5, 2009, accessed October 13, 2009 .
  4. ↑ German lunar lander company files for bankruptcy protection. In: Spacenews. July 9, 2019, accessed July 9, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Berlin-based New Space company PTScientists and European space company ArianeGroup agree on far-reaching cooperation for lunar missions. PTScientists, May 8, 2019, accessed on May 13, 2019 (in YouTube video from approx. 8:20-10: 40 minutes).