Mission PI support for MoonLITE Phase A

MoonLITE是一项由英国领导的月球任务，包括在月球表面3米以下和不同地点放置四个穿透器。一艘绕月轨道运行的航天器将把穿透器传回的信息传回地球。在为期一年的任务中，穿透器将进行一系列科学测量，包括地震学、地球化学、热流以及探测和描述永久阴影的极地陨石坑内挥发物的特征。将进行A阶段，详细审查特派团的可行性，特别是探讨其他技术解决办法。A阶段将包括两项工业研究（一项在任务级别，一项在下降模块级别）和一项通过向英国穿甲器联盟提供赠款对穿甲器本身进行的研究。美国宇航局也将支持这项研究。这里申请的赠款是为了支持特派团PI协调这项研究。考虑到任务的复杂性和所涉及的一些技术的新颖性，再加上英国和美国的维度，这项研究是非平凡的。

MoonLITE is a proposed UK led mission to the Moon involving the placement of four penetrators 3m below the lunar surface and diverse locations. A lunar orbiting spacecraft will relay information from the pentrators to Earth. During a one year mission the penetrators would make a range of scientific measurements including seismometry, geochemistry, heat flow and the detection and characterisation of volatiles within the permanently shaded polar craters. A phase A will be undertaken which will examine the feasibiltiy of the mission in detail, exploring in particular alternative technical solutions. The phase A will comprise two industrial studies (one at mission level, one at descent module level) and a study of the penetrators themselves through a grant to the UK penetrator consortium. NASA will also support the study. The grant requested here is to support the Mission PI in his role to coordinate this study. Given the complexity of the mission and novelty of some of the technologies involved, plus the UK-US dimension this study is non-trivial.