98
4 Structure and Mechanism Technology of Lunar Lander
(3) To ensure the attachment and connection stiffness with lunar lander, to maintain
the relative position of the attachment and the primary structure, to withstand
the temperature alternation load, to ensure pointing accuracy of the attachment
as required during operation.
(4) To provide landing cushion to ensure safety of the instrument on the lunar
lander during soft-landing on lunar surface.
Special attention shall be paid to the inertial load on the deployed mechanism during
orbit maneuver, the impact load upon landing, gravity of the lunar surface, and the
relatively harsh temperature environment for design of lunar lander mechanisms in
addition.
In this chapter, design and verification of the structure and mechanism of the
lunar lander will be illustrated for the structure, solar panel mechanism, connection/unlocking and deployment mechanism of the lunar rover of the Chang’E-3 lunar
lander. The landing cushion will be described in Chap. 11.
4.2 Structural and Mechanism Features of Lunar Lander
4.2.1 Structural Features of Lunar Lander
The structure of the lunar lander varies greatly depending on its mission. The series
of Surveyor lunar lander of United States configuration is shown in Fig. 4.1. The
surveyor’s primary bearing structure is shown in Fig. 4.2. It was mainly composed
of thin-walled aluminum pipes, forming a hexagon around the main retro-rocket,
which provided installation location and interface for the landing cushion mechanism,
connection structure with launch vehicle, main retro-rocket, vernier engines and fuel
tanks, thermal partitions, antenna, flight control systems, and scientific experiment
equipment [2, 3].
The general Artemis lunar lander proposed by the NASA Johnson Space Center
is shown in Fig. 4.3, whose primary structure is a radially symmetric truss structure
consisting of carbon fiber tubes connected by metal fasteners. At the top there is a
plain surface that provides interface for the installation of the payloads with fuel tank
inside [4, 5].
The American Apollo lunar module is shown in Fig. 4.4. It consisted of upper
and lower sections. The upper structure was an irregularly shaped sealed capsule
with life support equipment. The lower section was an octagonal prism, including
landing engine, propellant, water, oxygen, and scientific experimental equipment.
The internal structure of the descent module was a cross box structure consisting of
truss and stiffened plate, as shown in Fig. 4.5. The main retro rocket was located in
the center of the structure with four fuel tanks in the four cubic boxes around. Its
launch load and landing impact load were supported by 4 pyramidal frames [6, 7].
An exploded view of the lunar lander for the ESA Euro Moon 2000 project is
shown in Fig. 4.6 [8]. The structure was composed of three major parts: an aluminum
4 Structure and Mechanism Technology of Lunar Lander
(3) To ensure the attachment and connection stiffness with lunar lander, to maintain
the relative position of the attachment and the primary structure, to withstand
the temperature alternation load, to ensure pointing accuracy of the attachment
as required during operation.
(4) To provide landing cushion to ensure safety of the instrument on the lunar
lander during soft-landing on lunar surface.
Special attention shall be paid to the inertial load on the deployed mechanism during
orbit maneuver, the impact load upon landing, gravity of the lunar surface, and the
relatively harsh temperature environment for design of lunar lander mechanisms in
addition.
In this chapter, design and verification of the structure and mechanism of the
lunar lander will be illustrated for the structure, solar panel mechanism, connection/unlocking and deployment mechanism of the lunar rover of the Chang’E-3 lunar
lander. The landing cushion will be described in Chap. 11.
4.2 Structural and Mechanism Features of Lunar Lander
4.2.1 Structural Features of Lunar Lander
The structure of the lunar lander varies greatly depending on its mission. The series
of Surveyor lunar lander of United States configuration is shown in Fig. 4.1. The
surveyor’s primary bearing structure is shown in Fig. 4.2. It was mainly composed
of thin-walled aluminum pipes, forming a hexagon around the main retro-rocket,
which provided installation location and interface for the landing cushion mechanism,
connection structure with launch vehicle, main retro-rocket, vernier engines and fuel
tanks, thermal partitions, antenna, flight control systems, and scientific experiment
equipment [2, 3].
The general Artemis lunar lander proposed by the NASA Johnson Space Center
is shown in Fig. 4.3, whose primary structure is a radially symmetric truss structure
consisting of carbon fiber tubes connected by metal fasteners. At the top there is a
plain surface that provides interface for the installation of the payloads with fuel tank
inside [4, 5].
The American Apollo lunar module is shown in Fig. 4.4. It consisted of upper
and lower sections. The upper structure was an irregularly shaped sealed capsule
with life support equipment. The lower section was an octagonal prism, including
landing engine, propellant, water, oxygen, and scientific experimental equipment.
The internal structure of the descent module was a cross box structure consisting of
truss and stiffened plate, as shown in Fig. 4.5. The main retro rocket was located in
the center of the structure with four fuel tanks in the four cubic boxes around. Its
launch load and landing impact load were supported by 4 pyramidal frames [6, 7].
An exploded view of the lunar lander for the ESA Euro Moon 2000 project is
shown in Fig. 4.6 [8]. The structure was composed of three major parts: an aluminum