LEO (spacecraft)

Short description: Proposed German Moon mission

Lunar Exploration OrbiterNames| LEO

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Operator| German Aerospace Center
Mission duration| 4 years (proposed)
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass| ~650 kg (1,430 lb) including sub satellite
Start of mission
Launch date| 2012 (proposed)
Orbital parameters
Reference system| Selenocentric
Periselene altitude| 50 km (31 mi)
Epoch| planned

LEO (Lunarer Erkundungsorbiter; English: Lunar Exploration Orbiter) was the name of a proposed Germany mission to the Moon, announced by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Director Walter Doellinger on March 2, 2007. Because the needed money for the year 2009 was diverted elsewhere, the start of the project was delayed indefinitely.[1]

Precise characteristics of the mission were announced in early 2008, and estimated costs were projected to be ca. €350 million (~$514 million) over five years. The mission would involve a lunar orbiter that DLR intended to build and launch in 2012 to map the lunar surface. It would be the first German mission to the Moon and the first European mission to the Moon since SMART-1.

Numerous leading German planetologists, among them Gerhard Neukum, Ralf Jaumann and Tilman Spohn, have condemned the indefinite postponement and argue for resuming the LEO-project.[2]

## Contents

* 1 Design
* 2 Science objectives
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Design

The main satellite will weigh about 500 kilograms and is accompanied by a small sub-satellite, which weighs about 150 kilograms. The intended orbital altitude is about 50 km.

Planned experiments included measurements of lunar gravitational and magnetic fields. The main satellite would have also carried a microwave radar to probe beneath the lunar surface up to a depth of a few hundred meters. At maximum depth the radar would be able to resolve structures up to two meters.

## Science objectives

The duration of the mission around the Moon will be four years, during which the charting of the entire lunar surface would take place. The survey is to be three-dimensional and in colour with one aim being to provide indications of significant geological formations that could later be of interest for drilling.

The probe will also investigate the Moon's magnetic and gravity fields, look for water and analyse the minerals on its surface. It will use the best camera currently available, the best radar sensors and unique spectrum sensors for measuring the mineral composition.

## See also

* German space programme

## References

1. ↑ ""Leo" fliegt nicht zum Mond (Leo does not fly to the moon)". tagesschau. https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/mondmission100.html.
2. ↑ Europlanet: Erklärung zur Äußerung des Bundesministers für Wirtschaft und Technologie, die vom Deutschen Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) vorgeschlagene Mondmission Lunarer Explorations-Orbiter (LEO) zurückzustellen

## External links

* Germany plans unmanned lunar orbit. Reuters 11.07.2007
* Germany plans unmanned Moon mission
* Germany Mulls Sending Own Mission to the Moon. Deutsche Welle 04.03.2007

* v
* t
* e

Spacecraft missions to the Moon

Exploration
programs|

* American
* Apollo
* Artemis
* Commercial Lunar Payload Services
* Lunar Orbiter
* Lunar Precursor
* Pioneer
* Ranger
* Surveyor
* Chinese (Chang'e)
* Indian (Chandrayaan)
* Japanese
* Russian
* Luna-Glob
* Soviet
* Crewed
* Luna
* Lunokhod
* Zond

Active
missions|

| Orbiters|

* ARTEMIS
* Chang'e 5-T1 (service module)
* Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
* Queqiao (relay satellite at L2)
* Chandrayaan-2

|

Landers|

* Chang'e 3
* Chang'e 4

Rovers|

* Yutu-2

Past
missions|

| Crewed landings|

* Apollo 11
* 12
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* (List of Apollo astronauts)

|

Orbiters|

* Apollo 8
* 10
* Apollo Lunar Module
* Chang'e 1
* 2
* Chandrayaan-1
* Clementine
* Explorer 35
* 49
* GRAIL
* Hiten
* LADEE
* Longjiang-2
* Luna 10
* 11
* 12
* 14
* 19
* 22
* Lunar Orbiter 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* Lunar Prospector
* PFS-1
* PFS-2
* SMART-1
* SELENE (Kaguya, Okina, Ouna)

Impactors|

* LCROSS
* Luna 2
* Moon Impact Probe
* Ranger 4
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9

Landers|

* Apollo Lunar Module ×6
* Luna 9
* 13
* 16
* 17
* 20
* 21
* 23
* 24
* Surveyor 1
* 3
* 5
* 6
* 7

Rovers|

* Lunar Roving Vehicle
* Apollo 15
* 16
* 17
* Lunokhod 1
* 2
* Yutu

Sample return|

* Apollo 11
* 12
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* Luna 16
* 20
* 24

Failed landings|

* Surveyor 2
* 4
* Luna 5
* 7
* 8
* 15
* 18
* Beresheet
* Vikram / Pragyan

Flybys|

* 4M
* Apollo 13
* AsiaSat-3 / HGS-1
* Chang'e 5-T1 / Xiaofei
* Geotail
* ICE
* Longjiang-1
* Luna 1
* 3
* 4
* 6
* Mariner 10
* Nozomi
* Pioneer 4
* Ranger 5
* STEREO
* TESS
* WMAP
* WIND
* Zond 3
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* PAS-22

Planned
missions|

| Artemis|

* Artemis 1 (2020)
* ArgoMoon
* BioSentinel
* Cislunar Explorers
* CU-E3
* CuSP
* EQUULEUS
* LunaH-Map
* Lunar Flashlight
* Lunar IceCube
* NEA Scout
* OMOTENASHI
* SkyFire
* Team Miles
* Artemis 2 (2022)
* Artemis 3 (2024)
* Artemis 4 (2025)
* Artemis 5 (2026)
* Artemis 6 (2027)
* Artemis 7 (2028)
* Artemis 8 (2028)

|

CLPS|

* CAPSTONE (December 2020)
* Nova-C (2021)
* Peregrine M1 (Jul 2021)
* VIPER (2022)

Luna-Glob|

* Luna 25 (2021)
* Luna 26 (2024)
* Luna 27 (2025)
* Luna 28 (2027)
* Luna 29 (2028)
* Luna 30 (2028)
* Luna 31 (2028)

CLEP|

* Chang'e 5 (mid-2020)
* Chang'e 6 (2023–2024)
* Chang'e 7 (2023)
* Chang'e 8 (2027)

Others|

* Moon Express Lunar Scout (Jul 2020)
* International Lunar Observatory
* MoonLIGHT
* ALINA (2021)
* CubeRover
* Uni
* Hakuto-R M1 (Oct 2021)
* MoonRanger (2022)
* SLIM (Jan 2022)
* KPLO (Jul 2022)
* DESTINY+ (2022)
* Hakuto-R M2 (Mar 2023)
* #dearMoon project (2023)

Proposed
missions|

| Robotic|

* Chandrayaan-3 (November 2020)
* Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (2024)
* Artemis-7
* Blue Moon
* BOLAS
* Garatéa-L
* ISOCHRON
* Lunar Pathfinder
* McCandless
* Moon Diver
* XL-1

|

Crewed|

* DSE-Alpha
* Lunar Gateway (Lockheed Martin Lunar Lander)
* Lunar Orbital Station

Cancelled /
concepts|

* Altair
* Baden-Württemberg 1
* European Lunar Explorer
* International Lunar Network
* LEO
* LK
* Lunar-A
* Lunar Lander
* Lunar Mission One
* Lunar Observer
* Lunokhod 3
* MoonLITE
* MoonRise
* Prospector
* Resource Prospector
* SELENE-2
* Ukrselena

See also|

* Colonization of the Moon
* Google Lunar X Prize
* List of lunar probes
* List of missions to the Moon
* List of artificial objects on the Moon
* Lunar resources
* Apollo 17 Moon mice
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Apollo 11 anniversaries
* List of crewed lunar lander designs

* Missions are ordered by launch date. Crewed missions are in italics.

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