October 17, 2019 First Mode Applied Planetary Scientist, Elizabeth Frank, Ph.D., Will Present at LEAG Annual Meeting

First Mode’s Applied Planetary Scientist, Elizabeth Frank, Ph.D., will be presenting a poster on October 29th.

Please stop by if you are at the event!

Anticipated Challenges in Payload Integration on NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services MissionS

During the project lifecycle for a robotic NASA mission, the spacecraft and its payload are designed concurrently. Design changes to a spacecraft can dramatically impact instrument design and operation, and vice versa. Throughout the design phase, resources are allocated and negotiated across subsystems, including scientific instruments, and requirements are deconflicted.

The NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is a radical departure from this approach. Customers interested in sending a payload via a CLPS provider must conform to the specifications of the company’s spacecraft; the spacecraft and its payload are no longer being concurrently designed.

The First Mode team has deep experience with payload accommodation and integration on spacecraft including Mars Science Laboratory and Mars 2020. Drawing on this expertise, we identify the challenges that this new design approach may present, the potential effects on lunar science investigations, and viable solutions.

Want to work with us? We’re hiring! First Mode draws on the exceptional talent and creativity of its multidisciplinary team to solve the toughest problems on and off the planet. Check out our open positions in Seattle and Perth.