It's Lots More Than a Publicity Stunt

The microlander's payload consists of just a small camera and a communication system to send those pictures back to us here on Earth. It might not seem like much of a mission, but the benefit we derive from this little mission go far beyond a bit of publicity. This mission is a vital part of forging the whole Artemis Project team into a viable organization to conduct flights to the moon.

Not all the processes are scalable, but the team will acquire funadamental knowledge and experience in:

• systems integration (on a small scale, at least)
• guidance, navigation, control
• propulsion
• thermal control
• ephemeris modeling
• communication
• mission planning
• mission control
• relationships with launch service providers
• space environment
• lunar environment

In the process of doing this, we also set up:

• the team
• organizational tools
• team communication tools
• data repositories
• news media relations
• maybe a bit of marketing and merchandising
• techniques for delivering the fun via television and web

We'll get some nifty pictures; maybe even close-ups of potential landing sites for more elaborate missions.

We'll probably also get some nifty publicity for the concept of private enterprise on the moon.

I'm hoping we will derive a serendipitous benefit of settling the stomachs of the folks who are afraid of private enterprise space ventures. In the past few years, I've been surprised to learn that NASA folks -- those with real civil service badges -- embrace the idea of private manned space ventures. It's the contractors we have problems with.

We might even generate some public acceptance and enthusiasm for the idea. That establishes a seed market, which can grow to the point that we can afford to conduct more elaborate missions, starting with the roving robots and moving on to the manned landing.