posted on 2011-05-01, 00:00authored byKrishna Shankar, Kevin Peterson, Heather JonesHeather Jones, William Whittaker
<p>Affordable test articles for descent and landing are crucial for developing commercial lunar landing capability. To ensure successful lunar landing, flight software must be tested over mission-length durations on hardware exhibiting dynamics analogous to those of true flight articles. Energetic and structural constraints typically preclude affordable long-duration lander tests.</p>