Lunar Base Construction Planning

Mueller, Robert P.

doi:10.1061/9780784484470.072

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The use of the water sources thus simplifies the development of the Moon and, at the same time, enables the establishment of a business model. For this reason, most plans for a lunar base target a south polar crater with ice deposits as a construction site [38] (Figure 3). The construction of the necessary infrastructure must be carried out with local resources, especially regolith, to reduce costs.…”

Section: Natural Lunar Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization Based Subtractive Manufacturing

Seidel,

Teicher,

Ihlenfeldt

et al. 2023

Applied Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent years, space agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA), have expanded their research activities in the field of manufacturing in space. These measures serve to reduce limitations and costs through fairing size, launch mass capabilities or logistic missions. The objective, in turn, is to develop technologies and processes that enable on-demand manufacturing for long-term space missions and on other celestial bodies. Within these research activities, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and recycling are major topics to exploit local resources and save transport capacity and, therefore, costs. On the other hand, it is important to carefully consider which items can be brought and which must be manufactured on the Moon. Consequently, on-demand needs in future space missions are considered regarding frequency, raw material and required manufacturing processes according to investigations by ESA and NASA. In conclusion, manufacturing in space state-of-the-art shows a strong focus on additive processes, primarily considering semicrystalline or amorphous plastics. The subtractive processing of metallic or ceramic materials, in turn, currently represents a research gap. Consequently, an approach for in-situ resource utilization-based subtractive manufacturing in space is presented to supplement the existing processes. The latter uses a high-pressure jet of water, with regolith simulate as abrasive in suspension, being directed at the workpiece, which is moved to separate metal and glass. Proof-of-concept results are presented, including suitable process windows, achieved cutting geometries, as well as the effects of parameter variations on the system technology and consumables used. The focus of the investigations supplements the general requirements for the design of machine tools for space applications with inertial process-specific boundary conditions as a step towards higher technology maturity.

show abstract

Section: Natural Lunar Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization Based Subtractive Manufacturing

Seidel,

Teicher,

Ihlenfeldt

et al. 2023

Applied Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Investments in the Artemis program by various government agencies, including NASA [1,2], ESA [3], JAXA, and CSA, have been driven by the desire to explore space, focusing on our solar system, starting from the Moon. One of the program's primary objectives is to establish a permanent lunar base [4], which will serve as a launchpad for the exploration of Mars. The program will also involve studying the psychological and physical response of the astronauts and testing new technologies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Lunar-Orbiting Satellite Constellation for Wireless Energy Supply

Lopez,

Mauro,

Mauro

et al. 2023

Aerospace

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The goal of this research is to define a lunar-orbiting system that provides power to the lunar surface through wireless power transmission. To meet the power demand of a lunar base, a constellation of satellites placed in stable orbits is used. Each satellite of this constellation consists of solar arrays and batteries that supply a power transmission system. This system is composed of a laser that transmits power to receivers on the lunar surface. The receivers are photonic power converters, photovoltaic cells optimized for the laser’s monochromatic light. The outputs of this work will cover the architecture of the system by studying different orbits, specifically analyzing some subsystems such as the laser, the battery pack and the receiver placed on the lunar ground. The study is conducted considering two different energy demands and thus two different receivers location: first, at the strategic location of the Artemis missions’ landing site, the Shackleton Crater near the lunar south pole; second, on the lunar equator, in anticipation of future and new explorations. The goal is to evaluate the possible configurations to satisfy the power required for a lunar base, estimated at approximately 100 kW. To do this, several cases were analyzed: three different orbits, one polar, one frozen and one equatorial (Earth–Moon distant retrograde orbit) with different numbers of satellites and different angles of the receiver’s cone of transmission. The main objective of this paper is to perform a comprehensive feasibility study of the aforementioned system, with specific emphasis placed on selected subsystems. While thermal control, laser targeting, and attitude control subsystems are briefly introduced and discussed, further investigation is required to delve deeper into these areas and gain a more comprehensive understanding of their implementation and performance within the system.

show abstract