HERACLES (spacecraft)

Did You Know?

• Nammo were awarded a contract to evaluate engine performance requirements and find the best engine design for the reusable ascent engine.
• The ascent engine may be fed by electrically driven pumps from low pressure propellant tanks, which may enable in-space refueling.

Project overview

HERACLES was a lunar exploration architecture first outlined by 2015, with formal approval from ESA coming in November 2019. Its inaugural mission is currently planned for 2030, serving as the next step in ESA's Terrae Novae program (formerly the European Exploration Envelope Programme until 2021). The transport system was designed to use the Lunar Gateway as a staging point. An Ariane 64 rocket would launch the EL3 lunar lander from Earth, which would then touch down on the Moon using a disposable descent module. The EL3 lander, with a landing mass of about 1800 kg, could carry a Canadian robotic rover. This rover would explore the lunar surface, prospect for resources, and load up to 15 kg of samples onto the ascent module. The rover would then travel several kilometers across the Schrödinger basin on the far side of the Moon, collecting more samples for the next EL3 lander. Each time, the ascent module would return to the Lunar Gateway, where the Canadian robotic arm would capture it and transfer the samples to an Orion spacecraft for return to Earth with astronauts. The ascent module would then be refueled and paired with a new descent module sent from Earth. The second and third landings would each have 500 kg of payload capacity for other uses, such as testing new hardware or demonstrating technology. The fourth or fifth mission would focus on sample return. The project required developing a reusable lunar ascent engine, four of which could be clustered to power a future crewed or robotic lander. Later missions would include a pressurized rover for astronauts and a crew ascent module. Key goals included preparing for human lunar missions, creating science opportunities especially for sample return, gaining knowledge about potential resources, and demonstrating technologies and procedures for future Mars missions.

System elements

The HERACLES EL3 lander would combine a Japanese-built Lunar Descent Element, a European Interface Element holding the rover, and a European Lunar Ascent Element to ferry samples back to the Gateway. Canada’s 330-kilogram rover would rely on a radioisotope power system to survive the cold lunar nights. The whole spacecraft would weigh roughly 8500 kilograms, including fuel, with a payload capacity of about 1500 kilograms.