Argonaut Propulsion Lead

Description
Propulsion Lead Engineer in the Argonaut Team, Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration Programmes, assigned as integrated support from the Propulsion Engineering Section of the Propulsion, Aerothermodynamics and Flight Vehicles Engineering Division, Mechanical Department, Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.
Argonaut (EL3) is the vehicle that will deliver a campaign comprising multiple exploration missions to the Moon throughout the 2030s as part of Terrae Novae (E3P). Some missions may be ESA contributions to the NASA-led Artemis programme, while others may be purely European or undertaken in partnership with other global space agencies. Discussions are under way with NASA to allow one or more European astronauts to travel to the Moon’s surface on US human landers in recognition of EL3 missions undertaken as part of Artemis.

Each Argonaut mission will use a recurring element, known as the Lander Descent Element (LDE). The LDE will be compatible with very different specific missions, including logistics cargo support for Artemis, infrastructure deployment such as the charging station, and science at the south pole of the Moon or even on its far side at the equator. The LDE will take advantage of the ongoing Lunar Pathfinder project and the potential Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services (LCNS).

The definition of the Argonaut generic vehicle and mission, essentially the LDE, has been carried out in two parallel Phase A/B1 studies since October 2020 by two teams led by ADS (Bremen) and TAS-I (Turin). The studies are now in Phase B1, with an intermediate system requirements review that concluded in July 2022. The study phase will conclude in 2023.

The vehicle concepts depend on the development of high-performance throttleable landing engines. Two parallel technology developments for these engines are at TRL4 and will feed into the Argonaut programme when mature.

In order to both define specific mission applications and inform the generic design of the LDE so that it can accommodate a range of missions, several ESA CDF studies and pre-Phase A industrial studies have been conducted. The Phase B2/C/D development of the LDE will be initiated by the end of 2023 with the launch of the first mission targeted in 2030.