Abstract:Future in situ resource utilisation (ISRU) lunar mission concepts will require mechanisms that allow the available feedstock–mainly the lunar regolith–to be extracted from the lunar surface. Such extraction techniques in the reduced gravity environment of the Moon will need to minimise excavation forces, due to mass restrictions for robotic landers/vehicles and the large financial implications of placing cargo onto Earth’s satellite. An investigation of necessary excavation forces, both horizontally as well as… Show more
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