An Analysis of Mission Requirements, Trade-offs, and Implementation for the On-Board Data Handling Subsystem of a Commercial Micro Moon Lander

Sammanfattning: Space agencies worldwide have expressed interest in returning to the Moon,this time to permanently colonize the lunar surface. The private sector hasbegun preparing to meet the anticipated demand of goods and services thatwill be necessary to sustain a lunar colony. Competition among privatecompanies developing commercial lunar transportation systems ferryingcargo to the Moon should be stimulated by transferring technology and ideasfrom the public sector to increase the number of suppliers in the market.As part of that transfer, this thesis investigates how the design of the On-Board Data Handling (OBDH) subsystem of a lunar lander, one of the mostcomplex parts to develop, must be adapted for commercial missions. Thecurrent approach to OBDH subsystem design is described, as well its majorcomponents. The methodology describes how previous trade studies wereanalyzed, and their results and conclusions are framed in a commercialcontext, to reach the results found. The role of the ASTRI Programmeand OHB Systems AG is briefly covered. The results use a case studyexample to explain how the mission requirements, functional and hardwarearchitectures, and implementation of the OBDH subsystem should changeto fit a commercial mission. Finally, a commercial OBDH architecture isproposed.