Lunar Prospecting: Searching for Volatiles at the South Pole

The Resource Prospector is an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology demonstration mission, planned for a 2021 launch to search for and analyze volatiles at the Lunar South Pole. The mission poses unique operational challenges. Operating at the Lunar South Pole requires navigating a surface with lighting, shadow and regolith characteristics unlike those of previous missions. The short round trip communications time enables reactive surface operations for science and engineering. Navigation of permanently shadowed regions with a solar powered rover creates risks, including power and thermal management, and requires constant real time decision making for safe entry, path selection and egress. The mission plan requires a faster rover egress from the lander than any previous NASA rover mission.