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Design and dynamic analysis of landing mechanism for crew lunar vehicles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2025

Q. Zhao ,
C. Lu Open the ORCID record for C. Lu [Opens in a new window] ,
Y. Hong ,
J. Chen  and
C. Wang Open the ORCID record for C. Wang [Opens in a new window]
Q. Zhao
Affiliation:
College of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China
C. Lu
Affiliation:
College of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China
Y. Hong
Affiliation:
Aerospace System Engineering Shanghai, Shanghai, 201109, China
J. Chen
Affiliation:
College of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China National Key Laboratory of Aerospace Mechanism, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China Key Laboratory of Exploration Mechanism of the Deep Space Planet Surface, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China
C. Wang*
Affiliation:
College of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China National Key Laboratory of Aerospace Mechanism, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China Key Laboratory of Exploration Mechanism of the Deep Space Planet Surface, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211100, China
*
Corresponding author: C. Wang; Email: nuaawangchen@nuaa.edu.cn
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Abstract

Manned lunar landers must ensure astronaut safety while enhancing payload capacity. Due to traditional landers being weak in high-impact energy absorb and heavy payload capacity, a Starship-type manned lunar lander is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a comprehensive analysis was conducted on the traditional cantilever beam cushioning mechanism for manned lander. Subsequently, a 26-ton manned lander and its landing mechanism were designed, and a rigid-flexible coupling dynamic analysis was performed on the compression process of the primary and auxiliary legs. Secondly, the landing performance of the proposed Starship-type manned lunar lander was compared with the traditional 14-ton manned lander in multiple landing conditions. The results indicate that under normal conditions, the largest acceleration of the proposed 26-ton Starship-type manned lander decreases more than 13.1%. It enables a significant increase in payload capacity while mitigating impact loads under various landing conditions.

Keywords

lunar landersoft landingcrew vehicles for lunardynamic analysis

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 129 , Issue 1340 , October 2025 , pp. 2843 - 2858
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal Aeronautical Society

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Footnotes

†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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