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Space/Science » in reply to Update: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter converted to a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter???

re: Update: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter converted to a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter???
Larry J — (archived)

If you mean directly taking a satellite designed for Mars and sending it to the moon instead, then it doesn't sound like a good idea technically. Recent satellites designed for Mars orbit use aerobraking to lower the orbit once the initial injection maneuver is completed. Aerobraking isn't possible at the moon, so you'd have to do all of the orbital insertion using thrusters. Would MRO have enough propellant to do that?

There are a host of other issues, such as the design of the thermal, electrical, and communications systems. Mars is quite a bit colder than the moon, so the thermal protection system might be overbuild for the moon, possibly resulting in overheating. The solar panels would probably be larger than needed, too, as well as the communications system being overbuilt.

It's quite likely that many of the imaging sensors designed for Mars could be used at the moon, lowering the costs of both projects. There is room for quite a bit of commonality in things like structural, attitude control, TT&C, data manipulation, and basic electrical systems. Such commonality could save a lot of money for both programs. There may also be good commonality for much of the mission software, both on the vehicles and on the ground. Developing good software is very expensive. While there would need to be some specialization, you might be able to achieve something like 75% commonality between the missions if the hardware is common.

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