Lunar lander firing up for touchdown – with a little help from ATV technology

Lunar Lander breaking Credit: ESA

Europe’s ambition of touching down at the Moon’s south pole by 2018 has been boosted by recent test firings of the craft’s thrusters. The robot lander will prove new techniques for sending humans to the Moon and assess lunar hazards.

To save the cost of developing a new engine, ESA engineers looked to the tried-and-tested thrusters of Europe’s proven Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) space ferry.

A complete descent and touchdown was simulated, with the thruster firing in a series of short bursts, reaching a white-hot 1100ºC.

Full article and a very interesting video via ESA web.