Requirements Development Framework for Lunar In Situ Surface Construction of Infrastructure

Moses, Robert W.; Mueller, Robert P.

doi:10.1061/9780784483374.106

“…In the following, the energy consumption of two alternative blast shield construction methods are calculated and compared to the energy consumption of the proposed method. We note that the creation of un-cast regolith berms, as proposed by Mueller et al (2009) and Moses and Mueller (2021), is not discussed here. This method probably would need less energy than the other construction methods, but comes with other disadvantages: the impacting stream of spacecraft exhaust and pebbles/dust could erode a regolith berm over time (Morris, 2012).…”

Section: Comparison To Other Construction Methodsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Previously-proposed construction methods for blast shields include regolith berms (Mueller et al, 2009;Morris, 2012;Moses and Mueller, 2021), cast regolith (Benaroya et al, 2012) and microwave heating (Lim et al, 2021). The landing pad for Artemis-class missions is expected to have a diameter of 200 m (with possible reduction to 100 m) (Gelino et al, 2023).…”

Section: Blast Shield Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such infrastructure projects require significant building materials-yet the transport of mass from Earth to the Moon is extremely expensive, with current prices of around 1.2 mln USD per kilogram (Astrobotic, 2018). Literature suggests in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) for the construction of infrastructure, which can reduce the need of mass transport from Earth, while in return more energy is required (Moses and Mueller, 2021). Methods and materials based on in-situ resources proposed for construction purposes include, for example, microwave heating (Lim et al, 2021), cast regolith (Benaroya et al, 2012), waterless/sulfur concrete (Susante, 2012;Susante and Metzger, 2016;Khoshnevis et al, 2017), 3D-printing (Cesaretti et al, 2014;Yashar et al, 2021) and dry packing of processed rocks (Thangavelu and Adhikari, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Autonomous construction of lunar infrastructure with in-situ boulders

Walther,

Johns,

Kolvenbach

et al. 2024

Front. Space Technol.

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Significant infrastructure is required to establish a long-term presence of humans on the lunar surface. In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is a fundamental approach to ensure the viability of such construction. Here, we investigate the feasibility of constructing blast shields as one example of lunar infrastructure using unprocessed lunar boulders and an autonomous robotic excavator. First, we estimate the volume of unprocessed material required for the construction of blast shield segments. Secondly, we quantify the amount of available boulders in two exploration zones (located at the Shackleton-Henson Connecting Ridge and the Aristarchus Plateau pyroclastic deposit) using LRO NAC images and boulder size-frequency distribution laws. In addition, we showcase an alternative approach that relies on Diviner rock abundance data. Thirdly, we use a path planning algorithm to derive the distance, energy, and time required to collect local material and construct blast shield elements. Our results show that our construction method requires two orders of magnitudes less energy than alternative ISRU construction methods, while maintaining realistic mission time and payload capacity margins.

show abstract

“…Previously-proposed construction methods for blast shields include regolith berms (Mueller et al, 2009;Morris, 2012;Moses and Mueller, 2021), cast regolith (Benaroya et al, 2012) and microwave heating (Lim et al, 2021). The landing pad for Artemis-class missions is expected to have a diameter of 200 m (with possible reduction to 100 m) (Gelino et al, 2023).…”

Section: Blast Shield Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such infrastructure projects require significant building materials-yet the transport of mass from Earth to the Moon is extremely expensive, with current prices of around 1.2 mln USD per kilogram (Astrobotic, 2018). Literature suggests in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) for the construction of infrastructure, which can reduce the need of mass transport from Earth, while in return more energy is required (Moses and Mueller, 2021). Methods and materials based on in-situ resources proposed for construction purposes include, for example, microwave heating (Lim et al, 2021), cast regolith (Benaroya et al, 2012), waterless/sulfur concrete (Susante, 2012;Susante and Metzger, 2016;Khoshnevis et al, 2017), 3D-printing (Cesaretti et al, 2014;Yashar et al, 2021) and dry packing of processed rocks (Thangavelu and Adhikari, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%