Early steps toward the lunar base deployment: Some prospects

Abstract

The paper deals with key problems related to the initial stage of the Moon exploration in the coming decades. Moon exploration plans are on the agenda of the world's leading powers. Some important issues linked to of the Lunar Base development and the pre-construction studies on the selection of the most suitable regions for the purpose and along with their natural properties are discussed. We consider a scenario in which robots are widely used for further study and exploration of the Moon. The plan includes developing a global geological and geophysical reference network on the lunar surface and use mobile equipment equipped with drilling rigs. Such means (lunar rovers of a new generation) are in demand for the preliminary selection of the most suitable places for the Lunar Base construction as an initial element of the complex lunar infrastructure. Two types of lunar rovers are considered in detail: the prospecting and exploration lunokhod of the middle class “Geologist-Explorer” and the heavy lunokhod “Robot-Geologist”. They are intended to carry out regional geological, geochemical and geophysical surveying, sampling, analysis and comparison of data on the natural conditions of selected areas on promising routes with a radius of up to 500 km on the Near and Far side of the Moon. An important goal is data collection on the availability of such important local resources as water ice, frozen volatile and ore deposits. The issues of safety of humans stay in harsh conditions on the lunar surface and the possibility of protection from external factors are discussed, which plays an important role in the implementation of plans for the future lunar exploration.