Moonraker (lunar orbiter)

❧

Wikipedia

Moonraker
Mission typeExploration of the Moon
OperatorESA
Mission duration3 years (expected)
Spacecraft properties
BusDAUNTLESS-L
ManufacturerNUVIEW GmbH, SFL Missions, German Aerospace Center DLR
Launch mass478 kg
Dry mass259 kg
Payload mass51.2 kg
Dimensions1.35 × 1.10 × 1.39 m (stowed)
1.35 × 1.10 × 5.49 m (deployed)
Power697 W (end-of-life peak power generation)
Start of mission
Launch dateNET 2028
Orbital parameters
RegimePolar orbit
Altitude50 km (mean)

Moonraker is a proposed space mission under development by the European Space Agency (ESA). If approved, it will place a small satellite equipped with a LiDAR instrument into a polar orbit around the Moon. Its measurements will be used to generate highly accurate elevation models of the lunar surface, intended to guide the selection of landing sites for future lunar lander missions. It will also explore permanently shadowed craters and other regions of scientific interest.[1][2][3][4][5]

Project history

The "pre-Phase A" preparatory study, conducted by NUVIEW GmbH for ESA, began in November 2024.[4]

Spacecraft

The Moonraker spacecraft will be based on the DAUNTLESS-L platform, derived from the DAUNTLESS small satellite platform by the company SFL Missions. The spacecraft will be 3-axis stabilized using reaction wheels and cold gas reaction control thrusters. Its primary propulsion will be provided by monopropellant thrusters. Power will be generated by two deployable solar arrays.[5][6]

Instruments

The near-infrared[5] LiDAR payload, developed by NUVIEW GmbH, will have two objectives:[3]

  • Wide-area LiDAR will cover both polar regions of the Moon (~5 million km2)
  • High-definition LiDAR will cover individual candidate landing sites
Preliminary LiDAR specifications[5]
Mass 51.2 kg
Average Power 251.1 W
Peak Power 486.4 W
Duty Cycle per Orbit 30%
1× Zoom Cell Size 4 m
8× Zoom Cell Size 0.5 m
Points per Cell 2
1× Zoom Swath Width × Length 1 × 3275 km
8× Zoom Swath Width × Length 425 × 425 m

See also

References

  1. ↑ Khalil, Jesse (2025-06-16). "ESA moves forward with Moon mapping study". GPS World. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  2. ↑ Boucher, Marc (2025-06-10). "SFL Missions on team awarded moon mapping satellite study by ESA". SpaceQ Media Inc. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  3. 1 2 "Creating a Lidar-based Elevation Map of the Moon". www.geoweeknews.com. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  4. 1 2 "MOONRAKER: MAPPING THE MOON WITH HIGH RESOLUTION LIDAR | Activities Portal". activities.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Design and Analysis of the Moonraker Spacecraft for Lunar LiDAR Mapping
  6. ↑ "Small Satellites : SFL Missions – low-cost high-performance satellites". sflmissions.com. Retrieved 2025-09-11.