Why Power Density Was Important for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (Download)

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The NASA LRO Power System Electronics (PSE) architecture includes reliable standard internal and external communication buses, solid-state circuit breakers, and lithium-ion battery charge management. In industrial automation, optimizing parameters and rising-edge dead time can help minimize losses and improve power density.

The LRO began its mission in 2009 and orbited the Moon for at least one year. Its mission was to 3D map the Moon to locate future landing sites and resources, including deposits of water ice shadowed in lunar polar craters. The LRO continues to orbit the Moon even today, providing images and precise locations of lunar landers and equipment from current and previous lunar missions, including the Apollo sites.