SSTL has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to manage a pan-European student built mission to the Moon. The European Student Moon Orbiter (ESMO) programme will place a spacecraft into a lunar orbit to map the lunar surface, acquiring images and other scientific data about our nearest neighbour.

Students from at least 10 universities throughout ESA's Member States and Cooperating States will learn about space science and engineering “hands on” by collaborating on the design and building of systems that could be launched into orbit around the Moon as soon as 2013.

The photo to the left shows the university academics and students that are involved with the ESMO programme, gathered outside SSTL in Guilford.

SSTL will draw upon its experience in delivering cost effective space missions and training schemes to project manage the European Student Moon Orbiter (ESMO) mission, supervising the academic and student teams throughout Europe to help them achieve their goal of a space-ready Moon orbiter.

Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of SSTL said, “SSTL has had its sights on the Moon for nearly a decade and ESMO combines the industrial and educational strengths of SSTL towards this exciting challenge. We have shown many times in the past that success in space can be achieved at a fraction of the cost normally considered and we expect that this exciting mission will further demonstrate that this applies as well to science missions as Earth Observation and communications.”

SSTL Lunar Expert Andy Phipps commented, “ESMO is an extremely exciting opportunity for these European students to learn about space “hands-on”, but with the practical insight and support of our training and development programmes.

“Having successfully delivered the radar payload processor to BAE Systems for NASA’s contribution to the Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, the ESMO project is just as significant for SSTL and forms the next step on our lunar roadmap – the delivery of a complete mission”, continued Phipps.

SSTL was recently down-selected by the UK government’s STFC (Science and Technology Facilities Council) to lead the design phase for the MoonLITE mission, which will lead to the development and launch of a low-cost lunar orbiter carrying scientific lunar surface penetrators and a communications relay payload to the Moon in 2014.

For anyone who has not had the chance to listen to Sir Martin Sweeting's podcast about the sale of SSTL to EADS Astrium N.V, why not take a moment at home with a hot cup of Cocoa sit back and tune in here whilst the freezing British snow clears.

In this podcast Sir Martin discusses the sale, its growth plans, synergies with Astrium, Galileo and SSTL's geostationary mission plans.

The ambitious UK-led lunar program, MoonLITE, was presented at a meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society in London last Friday by SSTL's Phil Davies. Coordinated by SSTL partner in space Dr. Stuart Eves, the meeting discussed the scientific applications of small satellites in lunar missions. A number of overseas speakers attended to present their existing programmes and a number of UK papers on future mission proposals were also presented.

Feedback on the programme of talks has been excellent and it seems that many are conviced that world class science is now possible using high capability small satellites. You can find out more and read presentation on the University of Leicester's Astronomy with small satellites web page.

The MoonLite development programme, which is part of a proposed UK-led mission to the moon planned for launch as early as 2013, has completed its first three tests at the MoD Pendine test facility managed by Qinetiq with Flying colours. The session comprised the firing of small missile-like probes (named penetrators).

Breaking new ground
The penetrators travelled at 700mph along 300m of the 1,500m test track before hitting a sand target. The speed of impact and the material used were selected to replicate the surface of the moon and simulate the calculate g-force of 10,000g that the penetrators will be required to withstand whilst protecting their valuable analytical payload. See our earlier Space Blog (Shooting for the Moon) for details on the studies leading to this week’s developments for some background on MoonLite and its complement MoonRaker.

More than a missile
Equipment on board MoonLite (which stands for Moon Lightweight Interior and Telecoms Experiment) will carry sophisticated analytical instruments that can be used to explore the Moon’s subsurface. These include a seismometer which will measure “Moonquakes”.

The three penetrators tested at Pendine contained accelerometers, a data acquisition system, a power system and a variety of sensors including a drill mechanism, seismometer and mass spectrometer. The accelerometers recorded data throughout the trial and initial examinations showed that all other sensors survived the impact.

During the proposed mission, the penetrators will be deployed at high-speed by an orbiting spacecraft (MoonRaker) and will embed instruments into the lunar surface on impact. Once deployed, the scientific instruments will send measurements back to Earth, revealing the internal structure of the moon.

Catch the action
A BBC team witnessed the final day of the tests, which included some great video and animated iPlayer footage which can be played online (Missile Practice for Moon mission).

For more information on the background behind the MoonLITE mission, why not tune in to Sir Martin Sweeting’s discussion on the BBC or the BNSC.