Lunar Payload Electronics
CASE STUDY
Confidential / Commercial Space Client
CLIENT
INDUSTRY
Space
Partial Requirements and Specifications
WHAT CLIENT PROVIDED
WHAT UU DELIVERED
Custom Electronics Design and Prototyping
16-week Timeline
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The UU team helped a confidential commercial space company develop prototype control electronics for equipment designed to explore the lunar surface.
The prototype was created to validate the client’s planned methodology in a laboratory environment before progressing toward flight-ready hardware.
In fewer than 16 weeks, the UU team developed four circuit board assemblies and delivered manufacturing-ready design files. Because of the high cost of landing hardware on the Moon, the system had strict cost and mass constraints. Meeting those requirements demanded thoughtful component selection, efficient architecture decisions, and a detailed mass model to keep the design within the mission’s payload limits.
The final system comprised four interconnected circuit board assemblies, 4,343 components, and boards with up to 14 PCB layers. The completed prototype provided a platform for laboratory testing, risk reduction, and continued development toward a future lunar mission.
PROTOTYPE HARDWARE
The prototype integrated a digital card supporting a commercial single-board computer and command-and-control interface, plus power switching, high-power motor control, and four-axis robotic-arm control.