An efficient characterization of scientifically significant locations is essential prior to the return of humans to the Moon. The highest resolution imagery acquired from orbit of south-polar shadowed regions and other relevant locations remains, at best, an order of magnitude larger than the characteristic length of most of the robotic systems to be deployed. This hinders the planning and successful implementation of prospecting missions and poses a high risk for the traverse of robots and humans, diminishing the potential overall scientific and commercial return of any mission. We herein present the design of a lightweight, compact, autonomous, and reusable lunar reconnaissance drone capable of assisting other ground-based robotic assets, and eventually humans, in the characterization and high-resolution mapping (~0.1 m/px) of particularly challenging and hard-to-access locations on the lunar surface. The proposed concept consists of two main subsystems: the drone and its service station. With a total combined wet mass of 100 kg, the system is capable of 11 flights without refueling the service station, enabling almost 9 km of accumulated flight distance. The deployment of such a system could significantly impact the efficiency of upcoming exploration missions, increasing the distance covered per day of exploration and significantly reducing the need for recurrent contacts with ground stations on Earth.

翻译：对科学重要地点的有效表征对于人类重返月球至关重要。从轨道上获取的南极阴影区域及其他相关地点最高分辨率的图像，至少仍比将要部署的大多数机器人系统的特征长度大一个数量级。这阻碍了勘探任务的规划与成功实施，并为机器人和人类的行进带来高风险，降低了任何任务潜在的整体科学和商业回报。本文介绍了一种轻量、紧凑、自主且可重复使用的月球侦察无人机的设计，该无人机能够协助其他地面机器人资产乃至人类，对月球表面特别具有挑战性和难以到达的地点进行表征和高分辨率测绘（约0.1米/像素）。所提出的概念由两个主要子系统组成：无人机及其服务站。系统总湿重为100千克，在不给服务站补充燃料的情况下可执行11次飞行，累计飞行距离近9公里。部署此类系统可显著影响即将到来的勘探任务的效率，增加每日勘探覆盖距离，并大幅减少与地球地面站的频繁联络需求。