Deployable lunar landing pads for space mining applications
AssigneeTrans Astronautica Corporation
InventorsJoel C. Sercel, James G. Small
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Abstract
A landing pad for deployment on a celestial body includes a deployable surface configured to be stored in a stowed configuration on a spacecraft and be deployed into a deployed configuration on a surface of the celestial body, a landing system configured to land the landing pad on the surface of the celestial body, and a control system configured to control the landing system during landing of the landing pad on the surface of the celestial body and control the deployment of the deployable surface.
Claims16
A landing pad for deployment on the Moon, comprising:
- a deployable surface configured to be stored in a stowed configuration on a spacecraft and be deployed into a deployed configuration on a surface of the Moon;
- and
- a landing system configured to reduce an impact force between the landing pad and the surface of the Moon as the landing pad is landed on the surface,
- wherein the deployable surface is further configured to reduce or eliminate scattering of loose material from the surface of the Moon in the deployed configuration, and
- wherein the deployable surface is formed of a material having a density that is lower than a threshold density at which the landing pad can fall freely in lunar gravity without the impact force of the landing pad damaging the deployable surface.
A landing pad for deployment on a celestial body, comprising:
- a deployable surface configured to be stored in a stowed configuration on a spacecraft and be deployed into a deployed configuration on a surface of the celestial body;
- and
- a landing system configured to reduce an impact force between the landing pad and the surface of the celestial body as the landing pad is landed on the surface, the landing system comprising a balloon configured to reduce the impact force between the landing pad and the surface of the celestial body as the landing pad is landed on the surface,
- wherein the deployable surface is further configured to reduce or eliminate scattering of loose material from the surface of the celestial body in the deployed configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.