LSAM 4

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section contains information regarding a future spaceflight. Due to the nature of the content, details may change dramatically as the launch date approaches and/or more information becomes available.

LSAM 4

Mission insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name:	LSAM 4
Launch pad:	Launch Pad 39A
Launch:	June, 2020
Landing:	August, 2020
Duration:	~75 ± 10 days w/ 7 days on lunar surface
Orbit altitude:	~200-250 nautical miles (~320-400 km) in LEO
Orbit inclination:	~28.5 degrees in LEO
Distance traveled:	TBD
Navigation
Previous mission Next mission Orion 12 & LSAM 2 Orion 15 & LSAM 5

LSAM 4 is the current designation for the Lunar Surface Access Module that will attempt to make, during the Orion 14 mission, the second Constellation lunar landing, and, unless a landing is attempted by the Russian/ESA ACTS or Chinese lunar Shenzhou, the eighth manned landing in human history. LSAM 4 will be the ninth U.S. manned-rated lunar lander on the surface of the Moon and like Orion 13, will carry 3 astronauts to the lunar surface, despite the LSAM's design to hold four astronauts. A landing site has not yet been chosen.

LSAM 4 is currently scheduled to take place in late June, 2020, six months after Orion 13/LSAM 3. It will be launched atop the powerful Ares V SDLV from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, and will be linked up in low earth orbit, along with the Earth Departure Stage, by the Orion 14 crew in August, 2020.

While the Orion 14 mission is planned to last approximately 21 days total, LSAM 4 will be on the lunar surface for up to 7 days, and will be discarded after the landing party returns to lunar orbit. Like LSAM 3, LSAM 4 will be discarded in lunar orbit and will most likely be delibertaly crashed into the lunar surface, most likely on the lunar far side. This may be done to keep "lunar traffic" to a minimum and to allow NASA to calibrate any lunar seismometers left on the Moon's surface.

[edit] See also

• List of Constellation missions