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DN-004 L: Collection of imagery over lunar surface exploration sites to monitor impacts of human exploration

Quick-turnaround orbital imagery of Artemis surface missions while they are under way, finer than 1 m/pixel (0.5 m preferred), to check the state of landed elements, find lost assets and see how landers and traverses disturb the surface. There is no such data yet, because the missions have not flown; LRO may be able to image large elements. It is named in the Moon Base Users Guide (near-term), under the "Securing sites" challenge (Data gaps spreadsheet, DN-004 L; Users Guide, p. 12).

Quotations below are from row DN-004 L of the data gaps spreadsheet unless marked otherwise. ADD Rev C's Appendix E prints the same record as a table, and it matches the row field for field (ADD Rev C, p. 268).

Description

"Capture optical imagery of Artemis missions in progress on the surface of the lunar south pole. This imagery should be capable of monitoring surface elements and mission activities. Image resolution should be sufficient to determine the status of landed elements and observe how human activities alter the natural lunar surface environment."

Need driver and data type

  • Need driver: Lunar Exploration Surface Site Characterization
  • Data type: Orbit-to-Surface Monitoring

Target measurement parameters

"Capability to quickly capture, produce, and provide optical images of specific locations on the lunar surface with a resolution of <1 m/pixel (<0.5 m/pixel preferred) sufficient to determine the status of surface elements and characterize the disruption to the natural environment caused by landers and surface traverses."

Current state of data

"No existing available data as the missions are not in operation yet. However, LRO may be able to capture optical imagery of the Artemis missions with sufficient resolution to monitor large scale surface elements and mission activities at a regular cadence. While NASA has past orbital assets that have collected imagery of the lunar surface (e.g., Clementine, Lunar Orbiters 1-5), the resolution of those images is far less than that of LRO (~30 m/pixel for Clementine and ~60 m/pixel for Lunar Orbiter). Currently, NASA has the ShadowCam instrument on the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) which can take high resolution images of the poles, as high as 1.7 m/pixel; however, this is only in low light location and thus would not provide optimal imagery of a lander or surface operations in illuminated lunar regions."

Impact if data is unavailable

"Imagery is required to demonstrate a successful landing. Without timely imagery of <1 m/pixel resolution, there may be difficulty locating a lost asset or determining a cause of failure. Potential inability to image the active landing site in a contingency scenario. Lack of timely orbital imagery of Artemis missions may have national posture implications."

Benefits if data is available

"Increased understanding and situational awareness of in-mission risk and status of elements for subsequent operations. Increased understanding of anthropogenic impacts/disruptions on lunar environments, allowing for informed considerations on site preservation. Orbital imagery during the mission provides additional situational awareness and enables contingency capability in off-nominal scenarios. Timely and repeated orbital imagery enables contingency analysis, locating lost or non-communicating assets and determination of position and orientation, evidence of soft landing, and the capability to evaluate how exploration activities alter the lunar surface."

Traceability

  • Objectives: SE-05 LM, TH-03 L (codes as printed; the sheet gives no titles)
  • Segment: Human Lunar Return (HLR): "The M2M segment during which the data is needed, but not necessarily when it is collected" (Data gaps spreadsheet, Key sheet). A segment is not a Moon Base phase.

Priority

None. The spreadsheet has no priority field, and the Users Guide calls the data-gap list "not comprehensive or prioritized" (Users Guide, p. 11).

Moon Base relevance

The Users Guide names DN-004 L for one associated challenge (Users Guide, p. 12):

  • "Securing sites": "Identifying, selecting, and landing at individual sites requires more data about the lunar surface, including regolith properties, high-resolution imagery, mapping, and resource locations." Also cited: DN-001 L to DN-003 L, DN-005 L to DN-010 L, DN-013 L and DN-014 L. No tech gap.

The guide ties its challenges to "near-term Moon Base development efforts": missions in phase one "offer opportunities to collect data and mature technologies to enable essential phase two and phase three capabilities" (p. 11). See Technology and knowledge challenges.

Sources

Data gaps spreadsheet, DN-004 L · Users Guide, pp. 11–12 · ADD Rev C, p. 268