XL-1, is a small, single-use lander capable of placing a 100-kg payload on the lunar surface.
Created: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2022-02-20
Company - Masten Space Systems
- Founded
- Country
- 2004
- USA
- Website
- Masten Space Systems
Service - Moon Lander XL-1
- Classification
- Cargo Transportation & Landers
- Category
- Transport Service (LEO-Moon)
Commercial Lunar Lander
Landing Pads
- Status
- 3) Development
- First launch
- 2022
The Masten in-Flight Alumina Spray Technique (FAST) Landing Pad changes the approach to landing on planetary bodies by mitigating the landing plume effects by creating a landing pad under the lander as it descends onto a surface. This approach uses engineered particles injected into the rocket plume to build up a coating over the regolith at the landing location. The hardened regolith would have greater thermal resistance and ablation resistance to reduce regolith erosion rates and deep cratering. This innovation would enable large and small landers to safely perform transportation to any region on the Moon without major risks posed by engine plume effects. A lander could land in relatively close proximity to other surface assets without pre-existing infrastructure, which greatly expands potential landing locations and minimizes the need for pad construction missions.
Masten Space Systems won two contracts, with a total value of $12.8 million, to demonstrate precision landing technologies with its Xogdor vehicle and a system to provide heat and power for payloads to allow them to survive the lunar night.
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