Aiming at the mechanical condition during the moon landing, complex environment lunar surface features, and strict weight requirements, a tracking turntable for lunar-based earth observation was designed which consists of two main components: horizontal shaft & elevation actuator modules, and vertical shaft & azimuth actuator modules. In addition, Hour sensors were selected as the rotation position detector of elevation and azimuth shafts, and the pointing accuracy is better than 0.1°. An effective tracking turntable design configuration, optimized structure of supporter and selection of material were performed based on the finite element analysis method, and the stiffness of axis system and transmission accuracy of actuator module were analyzed to obtain the trade-off design with better capabilities of deep space environmental adaptability. To qualify the design for the specific mission requirements, the vibration and thermal vacuum tests were carried out with the result of 41 Hz eigenfrequencies and the required running temperature changing range (—40℃~+80℃). The experimental results show that the proposed design has advantages of compact volume, light weight and high reliability.