OMOTENASHI
OMOTENASHI is a small spacecraft and semi-hard lander of the 6U CubeSat format that will demonstrate low-cost technology to land and explore the lunar surface. The CubeSat will also take measurements of the radiation environment near the Moon as well as on the lunar surface. Omotenashi is a Japanese word for "welcome" or "hospitality".
OMOTENASHI will be one of thirteen CubeSats to be carried with the Artemis 1 mission into a heliocentric orbit in cislunar space on the maiden flight of the Space Launch System, scheduled to launch in 2021
Overview
The OMOTENASHI mission will land the smallest lunar lander to date on the lunar surface to demonstrate the feasibility of the hardware for distributed synergistic exploration system with multi-point exploration. Once on the lunar surface, the OMOTENASHI lander will observe the radiation environment of the lunar surface. The OMOTENASHI orbiter and lander were designed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It is a 6-Unit CubeSat measuring 10×20×30 cm, and has a mass of. The Principal investigator is Professor Tatsuaki Hashimoto from JAXA. The spacecraft features two deployable solar panels and lithium ion batteries. After measuring the radiation environment as it approaches the Moon, OMOTENASHI's lander module will perform a semi-hard landing on the lunar surface.Payload
The lander's scientific payload consist on a radiation monitor and an accelerometer.Propulsion and landing
OMOTENASHI uses a cold gas thruster to enter a lunar-impact orbit, and a solid rocket motor for the landing phase. The entry and landing phases will be informed by the use of an X band two-way Doppler. The orbiting module will enter at a shallow flight-path angle of ≤7 degrees, and it will be ejected when the solid rocket burn begins the deceleration maneuvre. The rocket will be ignited with a laser. After the deceleration rocket burn that will last 15-20 seconds, OMOTENASHI's lander will eject the retrorocket, experiencing a free-fall of about 100 m. Just before impact, the lander will deploy a single airbag about 50 cm in diameter to minimize the impact, estimated to be at 20 - 30 m/s.Spacecraft components | Units/performance |
Modules | *Orbiting module *Retro motor Module *Surface probe |
Surface probe | 0.7 kg Battery: 30 Wh Consumption: 15 W |
Orbiter | 7 kg |
Propulsion | *Solid motor: 6 kg -includes solid fuel *Cold gas jet: |