Long-Range Flyer
While the LESS was designed primarily as a 'lifeboat' for the LEM crew, a simple rocket which could carry two astronauts would be beneficial in other areas too. The Lunar Rover allowed the astronauts to travel fairly quickly over a few miles, but an improved version of the LESS could allow rapid travel over much longer distances on rocket thrust.
By adding fixed legs, increasing structural strength to support landing stresses, supporting engine throttling or using a cluster of RCS engines that could be pulsed, and adding a long-range radio relay, the LESS design could be extended to become a long-range flyer (LRF). With around 1600 pounds of propellant from the LEM, the astronauts could travel forty to sixty nautical miles from the LEM to explore a wider area around the landing site. This would, for example, allow reconnaissance trips to potential future landing sites, and the LRF could also be used for orbital flight to return the crew to the CSM in an emergency.
Read more about this topic: Lunar Escape Systems
Famous quotes containing the word flyer:
“How do you expect to learn to dance when you have not even learned to walk! And above the dancer is still the flyer and his bliss.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)